BENGALURU: Nearly 200 staffers employed with the luxury cruise liner MSC Grandiosa, mostly from Maharashtra and Goa, have been living a quarantined life for 70 days on board at Civitavachea port in Rome.
The cruise ship, which undertakes seven-day luxury trips across Europe, had started from Barcelona in Spain, stopped at Marseilles in France and then at Palermo before docking in Rome on March 15, at a time when Italy dominated world headlines for having the maximum number of COVID-19 deaths.
Today, they are in severe depression, having been individually accommodated on the sprawling ship, which can hold up to 6,000 guests at a time. Since March, four attempts to repatriate a good number of them back to India through special repatriation flights have failed, the latest being on May 23.
For their safety, each crew member is made to stay alone in a luxury passenger cabin and told to live within the confines of the room. They have access to wi-fi and TV, but no contact with any other human being as the food is placed outside the door. The Captain, Ship Purser and other top management staff are Italians, with an Israeli security force which is always on board. Rahul Shanbag (24), a restaurant attender, is a native of Fatorda, Mormugao, in Goa.
SHIPPING COMPANY IN TOUCH WITH INDIAN EMBASSY IN ITALY
For Rahul Shanbag, a hotel management graduate, this is his first job. "My contract with the company has already expired. But there is no way I can go home. My parents are desperate that I get back. They will never again let me take up a job like this," he said.
Describing the atmosphere on board, Shanbag said, "It is terrible. There is so much depression due to the isolation. I have not seen another individual for one-and-half months. Thankfully, three days ago, our ship was dropped from the Red Code to the Yellow Code, which means we can meet during meals, as a buffet arrangement is being made. We do not mind any quarantining in India, but please allow us to go," he said.
There are five women on board from Manipur, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, he said. His colleague, a waiter with much experience in the industry, insists his name be withheld for fear of getting penalised. “The ship owner, Mediterranean Ship Company, is keeping us as comfortable as possible. They booked tickets for us four times, but there seems to be some issues from the Indian side.
Every time we pack our bags to leave, we are told at the last minute that there is some problem,” he said. The shipping company is in regular touch with the Indian embassy in Italy. “Despite the all-round gloom, most of us will return to our jobs as we are well paid,” he added. There are 100 people from Maharashtra, 80 from Goa and the remaining crew are from across other parts of India, said Glenn Ebnett, a Mumbaibased activist who is reaching out to Indian authorities to somehow help them.