Lonely ordeal of father left marooned on virus-hit ship
Crewman thousands of miles from home
AVALLEY dad stranded in a coronavirus-hit cruise ship docked in an Australian port has spoken of his nightmare ordeal.
Filippo Savarese, of Rawtenstall, is one of more than 1,000 crew members still self-isolating on board the huge ship, which docked south of Sydney on April 6. Hundreds of passengers and crew have reportedly contracted the virus, including several deaths.
Despite his relief at testing negative for Covid-19, Filippo faces a long and anxious wait to get back home to his wife and two young children.
He said: “Every day we are disembarking crew on medical grounds because they’re infected.
“It’s not getting any easier. I’m not too worried about myself, but I’ve got two beautiful kids at home.
“I feel I should be there for them.”
AFAMILY with two members marooned thousands of miles from home due to the coronavirus have opened up about their ordeal.
Mum-of-two Aimee Savarese, of Rawtenstall, has been anxiously awaiting daily updates from her husband Filippo, a crew member on a cruise ship currently docked in Australian waters. The ship, which the family have asked not to be identified, has reportedly been hit by hundreds of positive COVID-19 cases, along with several deaths from the disease.
Navigator officer Filippo, 42, has recently tested negative for the virus, but still has no idea when he might be able to get home to his family.
Furthermore, Filippo’s Italian mother Fortunata, who is staying with Aimee and her children Stanley, nine, and Chiara, five, at their Burnley Road home, was meant to return to Sorrento a month ago - but has been unable to fly back.
The 70-year-old widow, who does not speak English and is high risk with diabetes, came to babysit for two weeks, but has since put her expert sewing skills to good use - making more than 30 masks for staff at Ashlands Nursing Home, in Newchurch.
Navigator officer Filippo, 42, has been in self-isolation in his cabin since they docked on April 6. He is managing to grab twice daily video chats with worried Aimee and family.
He said: “Every day we are disembarking crew on medical grounds because they’re infected. It’s not getting any easier. I’m not too worried about myself, but I’ve got two beautiful kids at home. At least when you are all together have got a different feeling. I feel I should be there for them.”
Filippo says there are more than a thousand crew members still on board.
He added: “The plan was to stay here for ten days and get everybody tested. They wanted to bring down the numbers of infections. It’s quite a tricky situation, I have so many things going on in my mind. Even though I’m an officer I have no idea what is going on. What is concerning is the lack of information about what plans are in place. I got a passenger balcony cabin so at least I can get a bit of fresh air.”
Student nurse Aimee, 37, said the uncertainty has been really worrying for everybody, although she says Filippo has been “unbelievably calm throughout”.
She said: “We don’t know what’s happening next. He says there is a lot of tension and stress on board. The Australians don’t want any of the crew on Australian soil. The inhabitants are very angry about the ship docking. They have only done emergency evacuations for a couple of crew. I don’t think there’s a big hospital there.”
Speaking about her mother-in-law, she added: “This care home put something on Facebook saying they had no PPE and asking if anybody could make masks.
“My mother-in-law has kindly offered to make as many masks as she can. This is a really difficult time for her, but I’m so happy that she can find the strength to do something so rewarding. There have been lots of tears - as a nation they are quite emotional beings. She is was crying again when she got the news that Filippo has not got the virus. She is spending a lot of time looking at the news and has been teaching Stanley to cook Italian food.”