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If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can speak to someone by contacting our free, confidential, 24-hour helpline:
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One night, YachtCrewHelp received a WhatsApp message from a distressed stewardess on a yacht at a European port. She said she had been verbally and physically abused by the captain and wanted to leave the vessel but it was late and she was in a foreign country.
Our helpline officer checked that the stewardess was currently safe – she was locked in her cabin but the captain had previously forced his way in – and took her location. While a colleague searched for the nearest seafarers’ centre, our helpline officer asked the stewardess for more information about her situation and made sure she was OK as she packed her items.
We made contact with the local seafarers’ centre in port and connected the stewardess with a female staff member there. The staff member met the stewardess at the yacht within 20 minutes and accompanied her to safety.
We received a message from the stewardess later that night to say she was relieved and grateful for the help she had received. She later messaged again to acknowledge the support she had received from the seafarers’ centre and wrote: ‘Thank you, I’m glad I came across this help line at the right moment’.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can speak to someone by contacting our free, confidential, 24-hour helpline:
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