Norwegian-flagged ship with 6 Covid-19 infections off Songkla
A Norwegian-flagged ship is currently floating off the coast of Songkla in the south of Thailand with 6 crew members infected with Covid-19. The offshore support vessel is named the Boa Deep C and is currently anchored near Ko Nu Island and awaiting further instructions. A spokesman for the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre confirmed that the boat has been waiting there since May 12.
At the Songkla Deep Sea Port, an official in the International Disease Control Office reported that the boat has 29 crew members on board for a journey that began on May 1 from India. The boat previously docked at port in Singapore for a stopover before travelling on to the Thai port.
The offshore support vessel arrived in the area around 8 am 0n May 11. At that time, Port of Songkla officials inspected the ship’s documents and administered Covid-19 swab tests to all people on board. The ship was originally cleared to travel on to Chon Buri and departed at 5 pm.
But later that evening around 10 pm, test results came back and revealed that 2 crew members from Ukraine, 2 from Poland, 1 from Russia, and 1 from India all tested positive for Covid-19. The ship was immediately ordered to return back to Songkla port by the local marine office.
The vessel arrived back the next day and was instructed to anchor by Ko Nu Island and await further updates. They were informed that travelling to any other seaport in Thailand or a nearby oil platform was strictly prohibited for any crew member. A field hospital was established on board the ship to isolate and begin treatment of the six Covid-19 infected crew members. None have reported any severe symptoms yet.
The maritime enforcement centre has dispatch patrol boats to observe the waters around the vessel and make sure that nobody leaves the Covid-19 infected ship and that nobody is allowed onto the boat. Officials in Songkla will continue to monitor the boat, stating that the ship is free to return to its country of origin at any time as long as they inform Thai officials first.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
