Overview
- The ship’s former onboard doctor says long stays are damaging children and could cause permanent harm, citing cases of headaches, nightmares, anxiety, bedwetting, and deep sadness.
- She reports the population has grown to 559 children under 18 and 419 young adults aged 18 to 23, with about 2,000 people housed on the vessel since 2023 despite earlier warnings.
- According to her, the ship sits by high quays with deep water in an industrial port, there is no proper outdoor play area, and children end up playing on a car deck or next to unsafe edges.
- She describes makeshift medical rooms in a converted casino and an emptied pool with poor hygiene, no windows that open, and too few sinks for basic handwashing.
- After an April 2025 urgent letter from ten medical professionals to stop placing children on the ship, she says talks with COA, GZA, and the city brought few practical changes as officials said there was no other place.