A tiny cruise vessel has evoked memories of the Dunkirk spirit by “rescuing” 19 Cuban crew members from a large passenger liner in Barbados and making a special 14-day diversion to repatriate them.
The intervention of 25-cabin Variety Cruises yacht Panorama has demonstrated that a wonderful spirit of co-operation in the face of adversity extends to the high seas.
Having finished a winter season cruising off the coast of Costa Rica and Panama, Panorama was empty other than crew and en route to a summer of cruising in the Mediterranean.
But while in Barbados prior to crossing the Atlantic, she berthed near the MSC Prezioza, that carries up to 4,360 passengers and 1,300 crew.
Given the constraints of Covid-19, the 19 Cuban crew members were keen to return home but had little hope of doing so.
Panorama, above, its captain Vasilis Mazarkis, below, and, top of page, MSC Prezioza’s Cuban crew with Variety Cruises crew and officers
That’s where Panorama’s captain, Vasilis Mazarkis, stepped in and, following a request from Cuban Government officials, he agreed make a seven-day voyage to repatriate the men and women to Havana, arriving on Saturday (4 April)
Health declarations had been provided by the Captain of MSC Prezioza and the Barbadian medical authorities, and the new complement of passengers was thermo-scanned prior to boarding and on every subsequent day of the journey.
The Cuban Government covered the cost of the fuel, otherwise no charge was made.
Captain Mazarkis said: “During these difficult times we are facing, it is important to help each other. Knowing that we were helping fellow seafarers by getting them back to their families makes us all happy.
“We wish and hope that all stranded crew and passengers alike manage to get home to their loved ones and that the world will return to normal soon.”
Panorama is now on the seven-day return journey to Barbados prior to heading for Athens. There, according to Variety Cruises UK managing director Chris Lorenzo, she will be put at the disposal of the Greek authorities.
“While Greece is relatively Covid-19 free at the moment, Lorenzo said “the fact is that it is a nation of islands, many of which are accessed only via tiny harbours, where urgent medical attention cannot always be accessed.
“As such we are offering our vessels to the Greek authorities for the immediate future.”