Brazilian local press sticks on possible violations of seafarers rights, in a tanker moored at Cabedelo's Port, in the state of Paraíba. While maritime industry struggles against coronavirus, governances toughens measures on essential seafarers workers who has no land to return.
A Covid-19 symptomatic crew member was removed to a local hospital, but another 5 ones would have been ordered to get back onboard, assures mainstream local media.
Yet, no shipowner, neither maritime, nor health or port authorities would have assisted them, alleges an audio message atributed to the ship infirmary. "Not even a doctor has contacted us; we are lefted behind.", would have said the ship nurse.
But Cabedelo's port authority declares they are just applying all the sanitary protocols.
For sure, maritime authorities worldwide are putting ships in quarentine as they could threaten the health local efforts. Those are exactly the recomendations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and World Health Organization (WHO) itselves.
Althougth, a February published study suggested that confirmed Covid-19 cases ought to be removed from ships, since onboard ambient are times contagious than the outside, if not discontamined. At least, for the people onboard ships themselves.
Also, a March CDC report found Sars-Cov-2 may be resilient on ships surfaces for a period enough to even contaminate different crews of the same ship.
Beside it, the new coronavirus outbreak is unvealing vulnerable seafarers situations worldwide. A global seafarers rights entity received large denounces on seafearers rights violations. Seafarers are yet being abandoned by ships admins and govs.
Even if they are considered vital workers against the pandemy by the IMO itself.
Of course, seafaring is an immanent social isolating activity. But these are harder times than it could be expected. So, on the quarentined crews cases, another seafearer entity published special recomendations to support life onboard ships.
In fact, Brazil climbs up Covid-19 contagious hills and struggles with scarcy medical resources and political plunges. While the greatest cities still considers to lockdown, the country already seens to become the new pandemic epicenter.
In this case, will frontline seafarers workers won't have stillwater to safe place, nor land ground to better stand?
