BENGALURU: Close on the heels of Indian staffers of a ship stuck in a port in Italy, 162 Indians stranded for nearly three months inside a ship in Essex, UK, are pleading to return home. Hailing from Goa, Kerala, New Delhi and Mumbai, they have been inside ‘MV Astoria’ at Tilbery port since March 9. The ship docked there after it began its journey from Mexico on February 11.
With UK faring badly in managing the Covid crisis, they are keen to leave its shores at the earliest. David Pereira, a security guard from Varca town in Goa, told The New Indian Express over phone, “On board, we are employed as receptionists, cooks, security and bartending staff. We have not been allowed to step off the ship. Our families are extremely distressed.” There is no clue when they would be repatriated home. “The ship owner (Cruise and Maritime Voyages) is trying to help us out.
There is no information and we require help. We are also worried about being in UK,” he said. Clifford, a Goan who works on the front desk, said, “We were told there were some problems from the Indian government side. It’s been months since I met my family in Marmagao,” he said. There is no problem regarding food or anything else, but we just want to go home, he added. Glenn Ebnett, social activist in Mumbai who is trying to help them, said, “There are 105 Goans, 33 Keralites, 20 from Mumbai and 4 from Delhi. They are being checked on a daily basis.”