A week ago, passengers from Nador in Morocco were prevented from disembarking in the port of Sète due to suspected cases of Covid on the liner GNV. This time it is passengers bound for Morocco who are stuck in the port of Sète.
Nearly 300 people who were to embark last Thursday for Tangier are still stranded at the quayside, victims of the health crisis and forced to wait until the green light from the prefecture.
“We have no information, no help, we are in the dark”
“We can understand the prefecture’s decision, but we have no information, the prefecture and the company are passing the buck and no help and we have been waiting for 5 days in the cold. People buy food in supermarkets to do this. to eat quickly but look here, it’s a dumping ground, and the toilets don’t open until 2 pm We don’t have masks, and I heard a man who said that his mother was dying in Morocco, she needs him! ” says Bensalem arrived from Nantes to go to Morocco
” We paid our super expensive tickets, 680 euros for a one-way ticket with a car, it’s unheard of! And we have no information, we are in the dark” ‘
The prefecture considered that the health protocol that had been put in place by the GNV company to manage this Covid case was incomplete and therefore as a precautionary measure, it decided to suspend the lines pending the renegotiation of a health protocol that meets the challenges.
“We have opened a terminal to allow waiting passengers to park safely.”
Travelers have been warned but as some arrive from afar, it was already too late. ” Given the congestion situation and the number of passengers on Friday, we had to open the pre-boarding terminal, allowing passengers to park their vehicle in complete safety on the site, with 24-hour security” explains Olivier Carmes, the port manager.
A new health protocol has been validated by the prefecture
A new health protocol was therefore drawn up this Monday morning. All passengers must undergo a PCR test and a serological test of less than 48 hours, the crews must also be tested on departure and on arrival, effectively allowing to have a follow-up of the personal staff on board. All tests must be sent to the PAF, the Border Police before departure.
It was also requested, before each departure from Morocco, to wait for the authorization of the French State to be able to set sail before leaving Morocco to avoid having ships stranded at sea without having a port of arrival.
“It’s complicated for everyone, but we are very hopeful that we will get a boat out on Wednesday and another on Friday.”
” It is true that the situation, when we took over the league on July 15, was not the same as today with the resumption of Covid cases. It is very complicated for the passengers, very complicated also for the port and the company. But the objective now is to be able to resume the rotations _on the long term_ . The 300 passengers who are now waiting must be able to leave very quickly. ” adds Olivier Carmes
A CNG boat could leave on Wednesday, another Baleria ship on Friday and perhaps a third between the two. ” It’s not bad already. You know that in Marseille, the crossings with Algeria have never resumed. We must also explain that we have a lot of passengers, because there are no more departures from Spain.
We are only two ports to ensure connections with the Maghreb, Genoa in Italy and Sète. It is nevertheless good that we have managed to maintain its links with Morocco, Sète being the historical home port of Morocco “.
