I am not certain but from my expierence, it would most likely consist of detention, fear, and likely some torture; to say nothing of the torture it is to take someone's passport and trap them onboard a ship for 4 years.

The other crew left and presumably the captain after this guy signed to stay and be the custodian, there is nothing to indicate in the article he of all the crew was singled out (from memory)

Obviously it doesn’t change the tragic situation, had he not signed up as custodian we’d be reading an article about a ship captain stuck on a ship Not to victim blame there is a difference between someone stole x thousands from my home vs I lost x thousands investing in an ostrich farm Both are sad, but ...

Whether or not he signed a form making him custodian is irrelavent. The matter of the fact is, nobody - custodian or not - should be forced to live on a ship against there will and/or have their passport taken/be detained for years for anything not a criminal offense [and in this case ultimately not their responsability, but even if so].