This image, taken on May 2, shows that 10 miles to the west of the islands, another group of cruise ships is located. EO Browser, Sinergise Ltd/Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Warzone/The Drive: Satellite Images Show Armadas Of Vacant Cruise Ships Huddling Together Out At Sea
With the cruise industry on life support, fleets have put to sea for an indefinite stay with many of their crewmen trapped on board.
Of all the industries that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cruise industry has probably been hit the hardest. Not only are their operations shut down, but they became the face of a global nightmare early on, with hulking pleasure ships being turned into floating prisons rife with infection. Now, according to satellite imagery and transponder tracking data, with no revenue and nowhere to go, cruise ships are seeking refuge in clusters out in the Caribbean and Atlantic, attempting to ride out a storm that they were never designed to handle.
Storing cruise ships in port is not a cheap proposition, nor is there enough space to accommodate them in traditional berths. Beyond that, the international crews that man these huge vessels are not allowed to step on land due to infection risk. With the vast majority of these ships flagged in relatively small and poor countries that have little capability to impact the situation, the only place for them to go is out to sea. And that's precisely where many of them have been.
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WNU Editor: The cruise industry is kaput for the next few years. And many of these cruise ships are probably going to be mothballed for the foreseeable future.
