It what is believed to be only the second occasion in a European port, a tanker has arrived with a mass outbreak of Covid-19 among the crew
The first reported instance was in June 2020, when 2009-built, MR2 product tanker Minerva Oceania is reported to have been quarantined upon arriving in Antwerp.
According to local news reports, 2013-buit Suezmax tanker Fairway has been towed to the outer anchorage of the port of Le Havre, France, following an outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
The outbreak is very serious, with reports the chief engineer is one of the two crew airlifted to intensive care units, rendering the tanker inoperative until a replacement is on board. Sixteen of the 25 crew have tested positive.
It is not known when or where the crew joined the ship, but the journey history recorded by VesselsValue shows the tanker discharged in India twice in 2021, last leaving Mumbai on 21 March 2021.
India is currently in the grip of a virulent wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. After India, the vessel loaded at Ju’aymah in Saudi Arabia before arriving in French waters around 19 April 2021.
Local French reports indicate five tugs were engaged from Boluda Towage Group to move Fairway to the outer Le Havre anchorage.
Fairway is commercially managed and operated by Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping, based in Singapore.
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