Thousands of fed up crew members have been stuck at sea on cruise ships for weeks amid the coronavirus crisis — as US officials refuse to let them disembark, according to a report Friday.
Melinda Mann, 25, of Georgia is demanding to be set free after being trapped on the Holland America with no passengers for a torturous 48 days, according to ABC News.
Melinda MannFacebook
“I can’t live on this ship forever,” she fumed to the station. “It’s not just me that deserves to go home.”
Mann’s ship was denied permission to disembark in Los Angeles by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, infuriating her and other workers.
“I literally could [have] spit on land, and I would have been there,” she said — explaining how close she was to finally get off the ship.
She described her prison-like life living in cramped quarters, saying, “I spend 21 hours a day in my cabin.”
At least 80,000 other crew members from more than 120 ships around the world are also stuck in U.S. waters, the station reported.
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Another crew member from Virginia said workers like him had been “vilified“ by officials, as others waved signs that read “Help us!”
The CDC, which must approve requests for the crew to disembark at U.S. ports, said the Holland America refused to “attest to safe disembarkation conditions.”
It added, “An official…complained that arranging nonpublic transportation for its disembarking crew was too expensive.”
The CDC requires cruise lines to develop and inform them of a comprehensive disembarkation plan before they grant approval.
