Carnival Magic cruise ship arrives in Dubrovnik for repatriation

 Carnival Magic cruise ship arrives (Dubrovnik City Tours/Screenshot)

ZAGREB, May 20 (Hina) – The Carnival Magic cruise ship with 756 crew, including five Croats, sailed into Dubrovnik on Wednesday morning for the repatriation of seafarers to their home countries.

Besides the Croats, aboard the ship which can accommodate 3,5000 passengers are Ukrainian and Romanian nationals as well as seafarers from Slovakia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. They will be transported home today by plane or bus.

Romano Peric, the coordinator of the International Transport Federation and representative of the Seafarers’ Union of Croatia, voiced confidence that no one on the ship was infected with COVID-19 given that it had been quarantined a long time but that epidemiological measures would be adhered to.

About 800 Croatian seafarers still waiting for repatriation

Peric said about 800 Croatian seafarers were still waiting to be repatriated. “The number is increasing by the day. They are mainly officers and some are hotel staff. Most of those ships are concentrated in the Caribbean and around Florida.”

The Carnival Breeze is expected to arrive in Dubrovnik next week, also as part of the repatriation procedure.

Croatians are coming home. 🌏
760 seamen return after Covid19 lockdown. Fun fact : Dubrovnik was a first city in the world who introduced quarantine by law.@CarnivalCruise @CarnivalPR@BBC_Travel @CNNTravel @cnnbrk @skyynewsbreak #Covid_19 #coronavirus #Travel @NatGeo #blog pic.twitter.com/fo50sR55Pn

— Dubrovnik city tours (@ToursDubrovnik) May 20, 2020