103 Mauritian seafarers stuck on a cruise ship

Stuck on cruise ships for 6 months, unable to return home, these 103 Mauritian citizens say they are fed-up!

Ashchaye Mohitram is one of them and he told the ABC News he has not set foot on land since early March.

The are stuck on the MSC cruise ship since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cruise industry to shut down most global operations.

“For the past six months we have been struggling to get back home,” Mohitram told ABC News.

“We feel like hostages here, being far away from our family and not being on land for so long.”

There are three groups of Mauritian seafarers on three different MSC ships near the port of Santos Brazil.

They have not received a paycheck since April and they will only be paid two months of “basic salary” if they do not get back on board within six months of repatriation.

MANZE LA PAS BON

This is “the worst experience of their life,” partially because of the food.

Sometimes they had “only bread and butter, just to fill our stomachs. Most of the time we were served only pork and beef.

“I’m just praying to get back on land soon with my family, eating homemade meals.”

After a strike on the deck, MSC notified them on Thursday that their repatriation is currently being finalized.

They will fly with Emirates Airlines on Sept 16. They will be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival in Mauritius.