This archive report was first published on 19 July 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, a growing humanitarian crisis is unfolding at sea. Over 200,000 seafarers from around the world are trapped on vessels, unable to leave due to travel restrictions.
According to the United Nations, many of these seafarers have been stuck on ships for months, with some having extended their contracts before the pandemic struck. For example, Duseja, a 27-year-old Indian worker, had extended his seven-month contract just a few months before the pandemic hit.
"Mentally, I am just done with it... but I'm still holding up because I have no other option," Duseja told AFP via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in late June.
Seafarers typically work for six to eight months at a stretch before disembarking and flying back to their home countries. However, with international travel paralyzed, this has become impossible.
At a recent International Maritime Summit in the UK, more than a dozen countries vowed to recognize seafarers as "key workers" to help them get home.
Uncertainty ¶
For some seafarers, the ordeal has been even longer. Cherokee Capajo, a 31-year-old luxury cruise ship technician from the Philippines, spent nearly four months on ships without setting foot on land due to virus shutdowns.
Capajo had barely heard of COVID-19 when he boarded the Carnival Ecstasy in Florida in late January. However, soon after, a number of Carnival-owned cruise ships were stricken with severe outbreaks, including the Diamond Princess in Japan.
Capajo and his colleagues were forced to stay on board for seven weeks after the Ecstasy passengers disembarked in Jacksonville on March 14. They were finally transferred to another boat that took them to Jakarta before arriving in Manila Bay on June 29.
Mental strain ¶
The ordeal has taken a toll on the mental health of many seafarers, with reports of some taking their own lives. In one case, a Filipino worker died of "apparent self-harm" on the cruise ship Scarlet Lady as it anchored off Florida in May.
Shipping industry groups have expressed their concerns about "suicide and self-harm" among workers in a joint letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The International Labour Organization (ILO) convention, known as the Seafarers' Bill of Rights, limits a worker's single tour of duty to less than 12 months.
For families waiting at home, the strain is also being felt. Priyamvada Basanth, from the southern Indian port of Kochi, said she did not know when she would see her husband who has been at sea for eight months on a ship owned by a Hong Kong company.
"The government is not even doing anything," said Basanth. "I just want him to come home."
