Many have been trapped on vessels for months after their tours were supposed to end as travel restrictions disrupted normal crew rotations.
Duseja, one of roughly 30,000 Indian workers unable to leave their ships, had extended his seven-month contract a few months before the pandemic struck.Seafarers typically work for six to eight months at a stretch before disembarking and flying back to their home countries, with new crews taking their place.
The 31-year-old had barely heard of COVID-19 when he boarded the Carnival Ecstasy in Florida in late January.Soon, a number of Carnival-owned cruise ships were stricken with severe outbreaks — including the Diamond Princess in Japan. He wanted to “kiss the ground” when he came ashore nearly two weeks later after finishing quarantine.
Filipinos account for around a quarter of the world’s seafarers. About 80,000 of them are stranded because of the pandemic, according to Philippine authorities.The ordeal has taken a toll on the mental health of many seafarers, with reports of some taking their own lives. An International Labor Organization convention widely known as the Seafarers’ Bill of Rights limits a worker’s single tour of duty to less than 12 months.Priyamvada Basanth 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.“I just want him to come home.”
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