It drew worldwide attention. On the 19 June 2020, surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency boarded six ships, five in Tilbury, one in Avonmouth and carried out full inspections. It followed discussions at international level about the way the crews were being treated. Serious concerns about their welfare led to a decision to have the unannounced inspections. Five ships were detained, four at Tilbury, one at Avonmouth.
All five detained ships were from the same company – Global Cruise Lines Limited. Four were flagged with the Bahamas and one with Portugal (Madeira) .
This is the story of those detentions.