CHENNAI: “We are in tears and on the verge of breaking down. None of the Indians has been affected. We want to be taken back home,” said Anbalagan from Madurai district, one of the six Tamil crew on board Diamond Princess, the cruise ship that has been quarantined after being hit by coronavirus at Yokohama port in Japan.
Apart from Anbalagan, special supervisor of the ship, others include Daniel from Chennai and Muthuswamy from Tiruchy. Binay Kumar Sarkar, a chef from north Bengal, had earlier posted a video on social media and appealed to the Union government for help.
He told Express that despite repeated requests to test the crew for the virus, none was tested yet. The number of affected passengers aboard had gone up to 130, he said. “Some of the Indian crew are not keeping well too,” said Sarkar, adding that he was in touch with Carnival Support Services India, the recruitment agent of the ship. “Six to seven crew members had spiked a temperature, but they tested negative for the virus. If all goes well, we expect to reach India by February 20. Our tickets have been booked,” he said.
Quarantine challenges intervention
Sarkar also said the agent had promised him that the crew would be allowed to go home and both the Indian and Japanese governments were discussing the issue. The ship has more than 3,700 passengers and crew, when it arrived Japan last Monday. It was docked in Yokohama on Thursday to resupply for a quarantine that could last until February 19.
According to an official from the Directorate General of Shipping, government intervention at this moment looks difficult considering they are under a mandatory quarantine period and under doctor's care. Manoj Joy, Community Development Manager at Sailors Society, told Express that it is not possible to intervene now and that he was worried the sailors would be affected mentally. "Some mechanism should be adopted so that the passengers can be counselled," said Joy.