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'We were treated like lepers' says crew member stuck at sea for months

“This is an unprecedented situation and it is already a humanitarian crisis," said former Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani - GETTY
“This is an unprecedented situation and it is already a humanitarian crisis," said former Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani - GETTY

The plight of seafarers stranded on ships across the world’s oceans has become so critical that the UK Government is leading international efforts to bring them home.

Today Maritime Minister Kelly Tolhurst will host the first virtual Seafarers Summit bringing together United Nations officials, political and business leaders to help secure desperately-needed repatriations for ship-workers.

It reflects alarm in the maritime industry at the rising toll the pandemic is taking on ship crews, many of whom have been abandoned by their countries which have closed borders and refused to let citizens return.

Incidents of cruise ship crew taking their own lives or staging protests to draw attention to their state have become a grim harbinger of the unfolding crisis.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to discuss the matter with former Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani after she raised it in the House of Commons.

“This is an unprecedented situation and it is already a humanitarian crisis,” she told Telegraph Travel.

One crew member aboard the Oosterdam was stranded off the coast of California and Mexico for weeks
One crew member aboard the Oosterdam was stranded off the coast of California and Mexico for weeks

“If not dealt with soon, it will become a critical crisis and those world leaders currently ignoring it will have no choice but to pay attention.”

While the fate of cruise line crews has previously hit the headlines, the spotlight has turned on cargo ship workers – responsible for transporting 80 per cent of the world’s goods – with warnings that the inability to relieve demoralised and exhausted crew represents a “ticking time bomb”.

“Normal contracts for these seafarers range from four to 11 months, but some crew have been at sea for at least 16 months... and that takes a mental toll,” said Fred Kenney, International Maritime Organisation’s legal and external affairs director.

Of around 250,000 seafarers awaiting repatriation, up to 30,000 are estimated to be cruise ship workers, with Asian nationals worst affected.

While cruise passengers were transported home months ago, crews have been marooned by a toxic mix of intransigence and bureaucracy violating maritime treaties and labour regulations.

“It has been frightening to see countries virtually disowning their own people,” said one cruise line executive.

Border restrictions and limited air travel is being blamed for challenges getting crew members home - GETTY
Border restrictions and limited air travel is being blamed for challenges getting crew members home - GETTY

“On a humanitarian level, some countries need to be called to account. How can they leave people stranded around the world without taking responsibility for their citizens?”

Cruise Lines International Association, representing the world’s major cruise companies, stressed that border restrictions and limited air travel were exacerbated by differing policies in each country that often changed without warning.

Since May, 10 cruise ship staff are reported to have committed suicide or died from conditions not related to Covid-19.

Many cruise companies have chartered aircraft to fly crew home, while several have used their ships to take crew back to their countries in Europe and Asia.

Londoner Jonathan Beaumont, who worked on Holland America Line ship Oosterdam, was stranded off the coast of California and Mexico after crew members were taken ill with Covid-19.

“I spent six weeks cruising between Los Angeles and Mexico, but so many ports wouldn’t allow us to dock and let people off. Then we were told to sail into international waters where we sat for a week,” said Beaumont.

“That was my lowest point. The weather was cool and windy; we were being blown about and couldn’t even see land.

“The most upsetting thing was not knowing when we would get off. The psychological impact weighed very heavily on many and people started to take anti-anxiety drugs to cope.”

Some weeks later, after many false starts, he was allowed to disembark in Puerto Vallarta.

“We were treated like lepers,” he said. “We were escorted by a police convoy in the middle of the night to the airport where we were taken to the runway via a side road.

“Here, we waited for a specially chartered plane to take us to Mexico City, from where we flew to Europe. It was tiring and mentally exhausting.”

Such has been the level of paranoia among some port authorities that ship crews have even been denied medical help for conditions not related to coronavirus.

IMO’s Kenney details how one crew member who suffered a stroke and another who received burns to 70 per cent of his body in an accident were both refused permission to disembark, compelling maritime authorities to intervene using international diplomatic channels.

These incidents highlight what UK Chamber of Shipping chief executive Bob Sanguinetti describes as the hidden toll of the coronavirus pandemic with ship crews becoming the forgotten victims.

He applauded cruise companies for working diligently with the authorities, adding: “They have used their own assets and ships and I don’t think many stones have been left unturned to repatriate passengers and crew members.”

Crew from Cruise & Maritime Voyages are heading home after five of its ships moored at Tilbury and Bristol were detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency last month over concerns for their health and safety.

More than 150 Indian workers onboard CMV ship Astoria had previously contacted the Indian government and reportedly staged a hunger strike in protest at its decision to close borders, which had left them in limbo.

Since the MCA action, the line has repatriated hundreds of crew to Myanmar, Indonesia and India on commercial and special charter flights. It’s a positive development, but Sanguinetti stresses it is not enough.

“The health and safety of individuals is not too much to ask, but there’s more interest in setting up travel corridors and air bubbles to let people go on holiday than to set up corridors to get crew members home,” he said.

Officials hope the summit will spur countries into taking action by pointing out their responsibilities to mariners.

“We want this to be a turning point,” Kenney stressed. “We have already passed the reasonable point to expect seafarers to stay at sea – you cannot keep them there forever.

“We will keep working to get them home.”