The widow of Ronnie Lorenzo, who contracted COVID-19 on an Australian luxury cruise ship that departed for Antarctica four days after the coronavirus pandemic declaration, says the trip should not have proceeded.
In an exclusive interview with Dateline, Nina Lorenzo recounts how her husband felt he had to work onboard even though the crew had concerns about cruising during a pandemic.
“Why go when there’s a pandemic? But he also told me that there’s nothing they can do but follow orders, I told him that they should have stopped,” said Nina.
Ronnie Lorenzo had been working on the MV Greg Mortimer, named after the famous Australian mountaineer who founded Aurora Expeditions, since its maiden voyage in 2019.
Coronavirus spread throughout the ship despite strict hygiene measures, and the isolation of passengers after fever was detected a week into the trip. The Greg Mortimer could not return to Argentina, where the borders were closed hours after it left, or stop at the Falkland Islands, because of the fevers on board. It ended up anchored 20km off the coast of Uruguay.
Uruguay hospitalised critically ill crew as well as passengers, but onboard they didn’t receive the same treatment.
Angela Gavilan, a close friend of Ronnie’s and a housekeeper on the MV Greg Mortimer, was put into isolation when she displayed a fever. But unlike the passengers who enjoyed large rooms and balconies, she was in a tiny, shared bedroom below the waterline.
The Greg Mortimer cruise ship arrives at the port of Montevideo, Uruguay, 10 April 2020. Source: AAP
“It was very difficult to remain there as we did not know if it was daytime or night time,” said Angela.
“Announcements could not be heard from our rooms, so we didn’t know what was going on.”
Rescue of a lifetime
Behind the scenes, Aurora Expeditions and the Australian government had been trying to find a solution for the passengers.
After reaching an agreement with the Uruguayan government, 112 Australians and New Zealanders, mostly passengers, were escorted to the airport along a so-called “sanitary corridor”, to prevent the spread of infection on the ground.
“The people of Montevideo were lined up on the streets, waving banners, little children, you know, blowing kisses, blowing hugs to people that never met before,” said passenger Antony Philip.
Nena Lorenzo remembers speaking to her husband, who was hospitalised on the night the Australians and New Zealanders left.
“He was already wearing something like a mask and he took it off just so he could talk to us and tell us not to worry but I could feel that he was already having a hard time. After that, there were no more video calls from him,” said Nena.
Fiftytwo-year-old Ronnie Lorenzo died a few days later. He was supporting a brother with leukaemia and a son with special needs, and became a grandfather while he was working on the Greg Mortimer.
“Now he can’t see his grandchild”, Nena says. “All our dreams are gone”
Nena Lorenzo is the Filipino widow of Ronnie Lorenzo. Ronnie paid the ultimate price when a luxury cruise ship set sail 4 days after a pandemic was declared. Source: Dateline
A public plea
Eighty-five crew members were still trapped onboard the ship, with almost half of them testing positive to COVID-19.
Some say they were given food that had expired, and their access to the internet was restricted.
Cruise Management International, a Miami-based company responsible for the crew and the ship’s operation, wanted them to sail to the Canary Islands when they were COVID-free.
“Just like Ronnie had died, anyone could get worse during the trip and could die,” said Angela.
With infection still spreading on board, the crew were fearful of a second, ill-fated voyage - and took to the airwaves as Uruguayan media broadcast their calls for help.
Dr Maurico Usme was the medical officer on the Greg Mortimer ship. Source: Dateline
“People were very clear, they told, ‘We want to jump from the ship. I'm feeling like I’m gonna die on board',” said Dr Mauricio Usme, the ship’s doctor.
Eventually, with support from the public and sympathetic trade unions, the crew were allowed to disembark from the ship on the 12th of May, a month after the passengers had left.
With so many international borders closed, it would still be many weeks before everyone was finally repatriated.
Angela Gavilan was a maid from Chile on the MV Greg Mortimer, a luxury cruise ship. As infection spread on board, she tested positive for covid-19 Source: Dateline
Memories hard to wash away
While the MV Greg Mortimer now idles in the Canary Islands, passengers and crew are struggling to recover from their ordeal.
More than seven months later, Angela says she’s still traumatised by her experience.
“I’m taking antidepressants and sleeping pills. It was even harder to lose someone who was our workmate. And honestly, knowing it could have been prevented by putting human lives before money.”
Cruise Management International declined to answer Dateline’s questions about what happened on board the Greg Mortimer, saying, “Our media experience through this has not reflected the compassion, days, weeks and months of hard work by our shore staff, valued sea officers and crew.”
