'We are very afraid': stranded cruise ship's crew in limbo amid pandemic

'We are very afraid': stranded cruise ship's crew in limbo amid pandemic
Uki Goñi 3 May 2020

Tensions aboard the Greg Mortimer have reached breaking point over allegations ship’s operators and captain pressured doctor to downplay outbreak

After an ill-fated Antarctic expedition in which 60% of passengers and crew contracted coronavirus and spent a month stranded off the coast of South America, the successful repatriation of 132 tourists from a Australian cruise ship seemed like a rare happy ending.

But what should have been a peaceful epilogue in which the crew of the Greg Mortimer sailed safely home has become a gruesome sequel of sickness and panic – with the added possibility of a legal battle in Miami courts.

In recent days, tensions onboard the stranded ship reached a breaking point over allegations that the ship’s operators and captain pressured the chief medical officer to mislead authorities in Uruguay about the health situation onboard.

Emails seen by the Guardian appear to show that two companies associated with the Greg Mortimer – Miami-based crewing company CMI/Sunstone and the Australian cruise operator Aurora Expeditions – urged Dr Mauricio Usme to downplay the severity of the outbreak.

A doctor from a third company linked to the vessel – the Fort Lauderdale medical company Vikand – also allegedly suggested Usme should play down the health situation onboard.

more... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/03/greg-mortimer-cruise...