Captain of stranded airliner did not inform Russian embassy about hunger strike

Natalia Litvinova, a passenger of the SH Diana liner stuck on its way to Antarctica, told Izvestia on Friday, November 29, that the ship's captain did not notify the Russian Embassy about Russians on board starving in protest.

"We realized that the captain did not inform the Russian embassy that there were protest hunger strikers on board, although he is legally obliged to do so," she said.

According to Natalia, at the briefing the captain said that he had notified the ground services about the condition of the sea vessel, ignoring the question about the embassy.

The passenger shared that the ship was constantly running late from schedule, causing the time to visit stops during the cruise to be cut short. She added that many travelers believe that the breakdown occurred during the first stop in Cape Town.

The woman specified that instead of the promised 15 visits to the islands, passengers had only been to three, and the long stay on board had worsened the health of many.

The company offered compensation in the amount of 50% of the cost of the cruise or 65% discount on the next one, but this did not satisfy the passengers, as the cruise was expensive and many had been saving up for it for a long time. As a result, people started writing complaints and went on hunger strike.

"I personally have been without water, without food for the third day. The company today sent me a reply that they can't compensate more, that it is such an offer," Natalia shared.

There are approximately 25 Russian citizens on the ship. Their actions and collective complaints were also supported by some passengers from China and the UK. No one has yet received a response from the company.

Earlier in the day, the British newspaper The Times reported that the passengers of the liner SH Diana headed to Antarctica, among whom there are Russians, went on hunger strike because of engine failure. The ship's captain cited propeller failure as the reason for the refusal to sail to Antarctica.