WATCH: Maltese Elderly Couple Stuck On Cruise Ship Brought Back To Malta On Humanitarian Grounds
An elderly Maltese couple stuck on a cruise ship were allowed to disembark in Valletta’s Grand Harbour and make their way back to their Maltese home earlier today.
Joseph Mercieca and Marthese Bonello, both aged 70, had been stuck on the MV Columbus cruise liner which left Sydney, Australia in February but had been cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The couple had originally appealed for sea repatriation from the cruise liner which stopped for fuel outside Malta today but had their plea denied on the grounds that passengers had to disembark in Tilbury, England – the cruise’s final destination.
However, the couple appealed for reconsideration and a decision was made to allow them to disembark in Malta on humanitarian grounds.
They were brought to the Grand Harbour on a pilot boat by Transport Malta and will spend the next two weeks in quarantine at home.
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