Hope stirs on cruise ship as officers meet harbour authority

Officers of the cruise ship Westerdam were on Wednesday (February 12) meeting with representatives of the Harbour Department at Sattahip in Chonburi to try and resolve the vessel’s inability to find a place to dock due to the coronavirus scare.
Wiradej Rittichai, president of the Cruise Ship Professional Association, said the ship’s officers appreciated the “good response” from the Thai government.
It has offered water, food, medication and other supplies for the 2,000-plus passengers and crew aboard and has left open the possibility that the Westerdam might yet be allowed to berth at Laem Chabang Port or somewhere else along the Thai coast if strict controls can be imposed.
Wiradej said the ship was continuing its meandering voyage while a final Thai decision is awaited and was likely somewhere off the coast of Cambodia.
He said morale remained high among the 19 Thai crewmembers as of Wednesday morning, encouraged by the idea that they might soon be docking in Thailand after all.
They have faith in the ability of the Thai authorities to contain the spread of the Covid19 coronavirus, noting that the medical response in Thailand had earned global praise, Wiradej said.
They are all in good health, he said, but he had no official word on the passengers’ condition. The crew and ship’s officers insist everyone is being protected according to the highest standards.
Asked about the Westerdam picking up passengers in Hong Kong earlier this month, Wiradej pointed out that Thailand allows Chinese cargo vessels to dock here every day and there are still aircraft arriving from China.
“There are 19 Thai sailors on that boat,” he said. “Don’t they have the right to enter Thailand?”
But in fact, he said, the notion has been mooted among government officials about bringing all 19 ashore, where they would be carefully screened.
“The question everyone is asking is, if there is no country where the ship can dock, how can it just continue on at sea, whereas Thailand has a proven and admired screening system. I call on bodies like the World Health Organisation to look into this. How can we let a cruise ship sail around aimlessly?”