Seafarers abandoned in the Gulf
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 August 2021
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What does it feel like to be abandoned out at sea? We go on board an oil tanker to tell the extraordinary story of those stranded on the MT Iba.
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Guest: Louise Callaghan, Middle East correspondent for The Sunday Times.
Host: David Aaronovitch.
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Transcript
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| 1:08.0 | Louise Callahan's job seems to be getting into places that the rest of us will never go. |
| 1:14.0 | And this month, that meant finding her way onto an abandoned oil tanker in the Gulf. |
| 1:19.0 | It's quite hard to get permission to go and visit these types of vessels. |
| 1:24.0 | So we, how shall I say this, we sort of slipped in under the radar and we climbed a ladder on board the ship. |
| 1:32.0 | Louise is going to take us aboard the MTIber and tell us the really quite extraordinary story of those she met and how they got there. |
| 1:41.0 | It's a tale of hunger, storms and floating fruit. |
| 1:48.0 | They just started seeing watermelons bobbing past them in the sea. |
| 1:53.0 | I mean it's like something out of a Gabrielle Gassi and my cares novel. |
| 1:57.0 | You're listening to stories of our times and the times and the Sunday times. |
| 2:01.0 | I'm David Aronovich, today, abandoned in the Gulf. |
| 2:18.0 | The sound you're hearing is audio Louise recorded on board. |
| 2:29.0 | The most important thing you need to know about the boat, the MTIber, is that it is not a great looking boat. |
| 2:35.0 | This boat has been through a bit of a tricky time. |
| 2:38.0 | Louise Callahan is the Middle East correspondent for the Sunday Times. |
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