Crew of Dutch ship rejected by other countries due to coronavirus docks at Port Area did not leave vessel

March 2, 2020

  The Philippine Coast Guard ( PCG) said a Dutch cruise ship rejected by several countries due to fear of the novel coronavirus, arrived at Port Area in Manila on Sunday morning.

Commodore Armand Balilo, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman said the Dutch cruise ship named "Westerdam" arrived around 8 am.

Balilo said the ship does not have passengers but it has a total of 747 crews onboard, of which more than 200 are Filipinos.

He said there is no Chinese national among foreign crew members onboard the ship.

Balilo said the crew members did not leave the vessel.

"The purpose is only for reprovisioning. Once the delivery has completed, they will leave (for) Hawaii," he said.

"There are more than 200 Filipino crew. They were not given shore leave. Even the foreign crew did not leave the ship," he added.

Balilo said based on PCG records, the ship cames from Cambodia before it arrived in Manila.

Reports from foreign news agencies showed that after being rejected by several ports, the ship was allowed to dock and unload its passengers in Cambodia last month.

One of its passengers, an 83-year- old American later reportedly tested positive for coronavirus after she was stopped while going through a thermal scanner at Kuala Lumpur airport. Robina Asido/DMS