By Pierre Terrien, Publisher, Maritime Magazine
Maritime Magazine would like to join Desgagnés in offering our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Renato Battisti, who for almost 10 years held the position of chief cook on board several Desgagnés ships and recently on board the Damia Desgagnés. Mr. Battisti died as a result of a fierce fight against Covid-19. “Mr. Battisti has made his mark with his colleagues and will certainly have brought nothing but positive things to our fleet during these many years. The sudden death of Mr. Battisti in such circumstances is tragic and upsets us. As a mark of respect for our colleague who left us too early, Desgagnés will lower their flags tomorrow morning for a period of 3 days, ” wrote the ship operator in a public statement.
This tragic death very close to us is a painful reminder that COVID-19 remains a potentially deadly virus and that all of us, on land and at sea, must continue to collaborate in order to protect ourselves, but also to protect our colleagues as well as our family.
We cannot stress enough the heroic contribution of the crews on the seas of the world who allow us to continue to live comfortably without having to deprive ourselves of anything and having the necessary equipment and drugs to commute the cursed scourge that assails us everywhere on the planet.
The situation of hundreds of thousands of seafarers remains critical on thousands of ships which still fail to make crew changes due to travel restrictions in some countries. Although this aberrant and cruel situation has captured the attention of international organizations and unions, it still persists. Photo of Renato Battisti: SIU
