Since yesterday, the CCI inter-union has been blocking the ports and airports of Corsica. As a result, some ships cannot dock, and have been circling at sea for several hours. A situation which, according to passengers, poses a health danger.
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“The situation is dramatic. It can’t continue like this.” Anthony is one of the hundreds of unfortunate passengers stranded at sea on one of the Corsica Ferries ships this Friday morning.
Supposed to disembark yesterday, at the end of the afternoon, but prevented by the strike movement of the CCI inter-union which is blocking the ports and airports of the island, the boat has been circling off the coast of Bastia for more than 18 hours already .
Difficult to live with for passengers, the situation would also present, according to this Corsican, a health risk. “We have people on the boat who are in need of treatment. Some need oxygen. There are people with diabetes, others who are disabled. There are little babies who need specific products, deplores Anthony. Imagine anyway. We don’t take the same care and preparation equipment when we plan to make a 4-hour journey or when it turns into a whole day crossing. We cannot leave people in this state.“
As a result, on the boat, according to this Ajaccian, tensions increase over the hours. “Among the passengers, you have Corsicans, but also Russians, Germans… Not everyone necessarily understands the announcements, which are not made in all languages, which means that there is mounting panic..” At the risk of seeing violent scandals arise, he slips. “We don’t hope so, but without any indication of when we’ll be able to dock, it could very well happen..”
Anthony does not throw stones at the staff of Corsica Ferries, who, he assures, “did the best possible and tried to reassure us. They opened all the cabins that night so people could sleep and maintained quality service.“
And if he does not criticize the reasons which motivate this union movement within the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “we understand them“, he denounces, however, the consequences of this strike for passengers.
“It’s one thing for ports and airports to be blocked. Let us prevent departures, too. But we can’t be left at sea indefinitely like this, he whispers. We do not have to be the martyrs of the ICC. These people must understand that they are putting people in danger, that it is time to act and let us return to dry land, close to pharmacies, healthcare spaces, and our families.“
L’Ajaccio insists: “For the situation to become even more serious than the current one, all that is missing are deaths. Maybe that would make things happen faster, he quips dryly. But right now, it’s the reality: people risk dying if we don’t do anything.“
Note that the situation on the boat seems not to be experienced in the same way according to the passengers: in a message, another man also present on board speaks of an atmosphere “rather serene, even if the passengers are uncertain about disembarkation and a little tired.“
At this stage, no indication has been given of a docking time for the various waiting ships. The situation, vague to say the least, is evolving hour by hour, minute by minute.
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