The fallout from the demise of Happy Cruises continues. On Thursday, 29 September 2011, the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reported that a Peruvian crew member named Rooy Eduardo Deceno Veláquez claimed to have been detained together with 300 others by the cruise operator for six days onboard Gemini near the Strait of Gibraltar.
Deceno emailed El Comercio in Peru to say that after disembarking all the passengers in Málaga on the previous Saturday, the vessel suddenly changed course and sailed towards Barcelona. They were prevented from leaving the ship. Later they were told that the ship was heading for Gibraltar.
According to Deceno, the ship is in the midst of changing ownership and no one was willing to pay the crew’s salaries. They had not been paid for four months. Deceno also left an audio message on CNN’s iReport to this effect and pleaded for help. “We are begging you, help us. I’m waiting for your answer. We’ll be in Gibraltar on Thursday, please come, or maybe they are still deceiving us. We don’t know until when. There are sick people onboard and they don’t want to do anything.” [Courtesy of CNN iReport]
Deceno worked in the ship’s restaurant. He is 32 years old and comes form Trujillo. It was also reported that another crewmember wrote to his sister, stating, among others, that the crew had not been fed and there had been a big brawl onboard. Yesterday, El Comercio reported that the Peruvian Foreign Ministry had stated there were 14 Peruvians working onboard Gemini and they were being treated well. The Honorary Peruvian Consul in Málaga, Alfonso Galán, received communication from another Peruvian crewmember, Marco Antonio Maestre Dupeyrat, stating that the crewmembers were all in good health and there was sufficient provision onboard.
El Comercio also reported that there were 18 Peruvian crewmembers onboard Happy Cruises’ other vessel, Ocean Pearl. They did not want to leave the ship for fear that they might not be paid. There are Peruvian crewmembers on Happy Dolphin in the same situation
Cruise Business Online has asked the manager of Gemini for a comment, which will posted as Update as soon as one has been received.
Reported by Alan Lam
