COVID-19-positive sailors in limbo at sea after Vanuatu government fails to provide treatment

There are concerns about the wellbeing of 12 sailors on board a large gas tanker that left Vanuatu, initially heading for the Solomon Islands, with all but one infected with COVID-19.

The UK-flagged Inga Kosan was due to travel to the Solomon Islands three days after arriving in Vanuatu on April 7, but it is now sailing in open waters without a clear indication of where it will dock next after crew members were not given treatment by the Vanuatu government.

Vanuatu said the risk of COVID-19 transmission was too great to offer treatment onshore, despite the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization saying port countries have a responsibility for sailors’ welfare.

Vanuatu Health Minister Silas Bule told the ABC the…