PERFECT STORM

300,000 Mariners Are Stuck at Sea Because of COVID-19

“Not knowing when or if we would be returning home put severe mental strain on my crew and myself,” one ship captain said.

Roughly 300,000 merchant marine crew members are stuck aboard their cargo ships at sea due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Captain Hedi Marzougui, who spoke to the United Nations General Assembly and shipping company executives Thursday. Months after the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the world, nations are still struggling with how to keep international trade moving while dealing fairly with cargo ships. Some countries have closed their borders to sailors entirely. “Not knowing when or if we would be returning home put severe mental strain on my crew and myself. We felt like second-class citizens with no input or control over our lives,” Marzougui said. “We received very limited information, and it became increasingly difficult to get vital supplies and technical support. Nations changed regulations on a daily, if not hourly, basis.”