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Ministry of Shipping issues Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle Covid-19 for international cruise ships at major ports

The following SOPs shall be in place with immediate effect for all international cruise ships, who had planned and intimated their call to major ports of India in advance:

• Only those international cruise ships which had planned and intimated their call to an Indian port not later than January 1 will be allowed to call on such port.
• Any international cruise ship, any member of its crew or any passenger therein having a travel history of visiting any of the Covid-19 affected countries since February 1 will not be permitted to enter any Indian port till March 31.
• International cruise ships will be allowed only on the ports having thermal screening facilities for passenger and crew.
• Shipping Agent/Master of Vessel to submit all documents related to crew and passengers regarding their travel to/from the COVID-19 affected countries. No sick passengers/crew will be allowed to board the ship.
• The updated information on COVID-19 shall be provided to each international cruise vessel and should be as per guidelines of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• All passengers and crew members will have to fill the ‘Self Reporting Form’ as prescribed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and submit to PHO.
• Port Health Officer (PHO) will carry out thermal screening of all the passengers and crew members on board ship. Until clearance by PHO, passengers will not be allowed ashore. Port/local hospital to assist PHO by supplying additional doctors, medical staff and logistics.
• If any passengers/crew show symptoms of the disease, disembarking of such passengers/crew will not be permitted. The passenger will be quarantined on the ship. Samples of the patient will be collected and sent to designated hospital/lab for testing. If sample is tested positive, the passenger will be taken to the isolation facility attached to the port and the ship will be asked to move out. If sample is negative, the passengers and crew will be allowed shore excursion. A declaration to follow this procedure will be taken from all ships before they are allowed to enter the port.

Cruise ships need to take special measures to prevent coronavirus affected patients to board the ships in the first place. Some of these steps will include:

• Any cruise guests who have travelled through China, Hong Kong, Iran, South Korea and Italy and other affected countries in the past 14 days are automatically denied boarding by the cruise lines.
• Any person having contact with anyone within the last 14-days prior to travel who has travel history to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea or Italy or any other affected countries is automatically denied boarding.
• Mandatory screenings are performed of persons with influenza like illnesses (ILIs) in boarding ports terminals.
• At the check-in counter of the boarding ports, the guest’s passports are verified for any stamps from COVID-19 affected countries.
• The passports are double checked by cruise vessel personnel inside the terminal at boarding ports to ensure nothing is amiss.
• All passports are also checked onboard by cruise vessel staff alongside Indian Immigration Officers, wherever the Immigration Officers boarded in the previous foreign ports for enroute clearance.
• The ship should be regularly sanitized.
• All cruises carry out daily examination of all passengers for symptoms for COVID-19.
• All cruises should have sufficiently oriented health staff with adequate logistics like masks, personal protection equipment etc along with sufficient isolation beds where any crew/passenger suspects can be isolated in case of detection of any symptoms.