Most anchored cruise ships operating with minimal crew

MOST OF THE SHIPS anchored off Barbados are now operating with skeleton crews.

Barbados Port Inc. chairman Senator Lisa Cummins said crew members had been boarding chartered flights and returning home.

“For the last month, passengers have been getting repatriated and once they were gone, the crews have also been getting repatriated all over the world by way of charter flights. Last night [April 11] most of the crew of the Norwegian Spirit left on two charter flights,” she said.

The Norwegian Spirit, which arrived last week, would usually have a crew of 965. Cummins said some other ships had as much as 1 500 but they were almost all down to around 200.
“The ships cannot be abandoned so the minimum crew stays behind until they receive instructions as to what to do next. Until then the ships will stay at anchor and that is the same worldwide,” she said. (CA)

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