Little hope of returning home for seafarers stranded at sea amid lockdown

Limited supplies, seasickness and a repatriation plan that comes with several complications has made life particularly hard for this lot

Bryan D’Costa, a 25-year-old from Goa, is currently on a cruise liner stranded off the coast of Scotland. Having spent over 60 days onboard in what he calls ‘a state of isolation’, his frustration is palpable. He is among the thousands of Indian seafarers to be stuck in foreign waters amid lockdown.

“It’s extremely disheartening. There are only Indians onboard, about 100 of them, since seafarers of other nationalities have returned home for free. The senior management of the ship has stayed back just to look after us. We have a limited supply of food and other items. We are seasick