An outbreak of Covid-19 on board a Greek-controlled bulker has cost the life of a Filipino seafarer in Bulgaria, local media reported.
According to news website maritime.bg, the crew member of the 80,700-dwt Star Genesis (built 2010) died at the port of Burgas after five days of hospitalisation.
He was one of 12 seafarers on the Star Genesis who tested positive for the disease, the Bulgarian news outlet said, citing local authorities.
An executive at Star Bulk Carriers — the ship's owner — said the vessel is not managed by Star Bulk but by a third-party manager.
"We are working closely with our managers to identify the root cause of the incident," the executive said. "In the meantime, all necessary measures have been implemented to safeguard the health and safety of the crews remaining on board."
Τhe incident provides further evidence that a renewed worldwide surge of the pandemic is affecting shipping.
On Tuesday, TradeWinds reported that at least nine of the 21 crew members on board an Italia Marittima containership had tested positive for the disease at a port in the south of New Zealand.
On 8 July, a Dutch tanker suffered a coronavirus outbreak among mainly vaccinated crew members, while three seafarers were taken to hospital from a bulker in Brazil.
Still a threat
The Star Genesis crew is said to consist of 20 Filipino seafarers. One of them was hospitalised on 19 July after suffering breathing difficulties.
The remaining 10 who tested positive for the disease are currently isolated on board, with two of them showing symptoms of fever and a cough.
Burgas authorities have ordered a disinfection of all premises on the Star Genesis, maritime.bg reported.
Burgas port authorities were not immediately available to confirm the incident.
Vessel trackers show the ship arrived in Burgas on 15 July from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
The latest wave of the disease is proving more dangerous to seafarers than earlier phases of the pandemic, leading to increasing reports of seafarer fatalities.
While a full accounting of seafarer deaths is not available, such reports of seafarer Covid-19 deaths were a rarity before March.
More than 18 months after the coronavirus started spreading worldwide, ship operators still complain that national authorities, ports and charterers make it hard for them to cope with the disease.
An international vaccination drive for seafarers is slow to get off the ground. Changing crews or allowing infected seafarers to be treated on land is still difficult in several parts of the world.
Shipping companies are often forced to take time-consuming detours to find jurisdictions willing to accommodate them.
This article was updated after original publication
