Belgium’s Agency for Maritime Services and Coast (MDK) is investigating the circumstances behind the coronavirus outbreak aboard the product tanker Minerva Oceania, which has 15 confirmed cases on board at the port of Antwerp. The pilot who guided her into port also tested positive for the disease on Friday, and a second pilot who was aboard the ship has tested negative.
“We are asking serious questions about how the situation has gone and about the number of infections,” a spokesman for MDK told local media. “We doubt that the captain’s health declaration has been completed in good faith.”
According to local outlet GVA, the Flemish pilots’ association has also expressed concern about the risk to its members and the timeliness of the notification of an onboard outbreak.