Cruise Law News | Walker ONeill Law Firm | Admiralty Law, Cruise Ship Accidents Injuries

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A dozen crew members on Mein Schiff 6, the first cruise ship to dock in Greece  after the coronavirus lockdown, have tested positive for COVID19, according to the Guardian newspaper.The cruise ship reportedly is moored off the Aegean island of Milos with 922 passengers onboard, according to the Greek coastguard. German media report that the cruise ship left the Cretan port city of Heraklion yesterday evening. After the test results became known, the captain interrupted the voyage and waited for further instructions off of Milos. The ship is now supposed to go to the port of Piraeus.This is an inauspicious attempt at a re-start at cruising by the Mien Schiff company. This was supposed to be essentially one of the test cruises for Royal Caribbean which has a 50:50 joint venture with TUI of Germany which manages the Mein Schiff ships.The positive results surfaced after tests on 150 of the 666-member crew, a coastguard spokeswoman told the Guardian. “They have been isolated onboard, and we are awaiting instructions from the public health agency on where the ship is to sail.”The ship had sailed from the Cretan port of Iraklio on Sunday evening and was heading to Piraeus near Athens. The passengers had a clean bill of health before the voyage, the spokeswoman said.The Mein Schiff 6 was the first cruise ship to return to Greek waters after cruising was suspended in March. A German newspaper reports that none of the twelve crew members had symptoms. Those affected are now being tested again on board. The first results are negative. TUI touted that the Mein Schiff cruise ships have the highest hygiene and safety measures as well as a newly formed position of an infection manager on each ship.  Our #10pointplan with highest #hygiene and #safety measures as well as the newly formed position as an Infection Manager on board is working.➡️ We have proven how safe vacations can take place in times of Corona. Welcome on board! pic.twitter.com/GqTmurm9HQ TUI Group (@TUIGroup) September 18, 2020On July 21st we reported that the the July 31 cruise of the Mein Schiff 1 cruise was cancelled after five crew members tested positive for COVID-19.Yesterday, we reported that a Costa Diadema crew member tested positive for Covid-19.This development comes at a time when the U.S. based cruise industry is trying to convince the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it is safe to resume cruising from U.S. ports. In my estimation, it is likely that the CDC will extend the no-sail order which is currently set to expire on Wednesday, September 30, 2020.We have requested TUI to provide an update regarding the repeat testing of the crew members in question.Have a comment or question? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.September 28, 2020 Update: According to the Points Guy:  The initial tests that had come back positive were done by an external laboratory. So far, six of the onboard rapid tests have come back negative, TUI Cruises said in the statement. The line said it would take further swabs from the crew members and send them to an external laboratory for yet another round of testing . . .  TUI Cruises downplayed the situation onboard, saying the isolation of the crew who tested positive was a pure precautionary measure and the retesting was being done to rule out the unlikely case of infection.' Photo Credit: TUI CruisesA Costa Cruises crew member on the Costa Diadema, was landed today in Genoa because he tested positive for Covid, according to the Italian News agency ANSA.The news agency reports that five other people, apparently crew members, who had been in contact with the crew member were also sent ashore. The seafarer, of Indian nationality, had boarded the cruise ship a few days ago and had been placed in preventive isolation as required by the company s proedures. During the mandatory screening, he tested positive although he was asymptomatic. The Italian Border Health Unit took over the care of the crew members and accompanied him to a facility dedicated to COVID patients.The popular Crew Center covered the story and explained Costa s protocols as follows: The company implemented pre-screen measures for each crew member in their country of origin, including two different swab tests for evaluation of suspected COVID-19 cases. Prior to embarking the crew members are tested for the third time; those confirmed negative are allowed on board and are placed in a 14-day quarantine. During this period their health is monitored with daily temperature checks. Before crew members enter service they are tested once again. Nine Costa crewmembers tested positive for COVID-19 this summer. Four crew members tested positive for COVID aboard the Costa Deliziosa and five crew members on the Costa Favolosa tested positive for the virus in August, as we reported earlier.Have a comment or question? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Photo credit: ligurianotizie.itCarnival Cruise Line is taking steps to terminate and/or not renew the contracts of employment of several thousands of officers and crew members throughout its fleet, according to several crew members who wish to remain anonymous.Today, several crew members provided internal documentation indicating that Carnival is sending as many as 7,000 termination letters to Carnival officers and crew members. As many as eight captains (masters), five staff captains, five guest service managers, six executive chefs and six hotel directors are among the top ship employees who are being laid off. Carnival sent these letters via e-mails to officers and crew members who are at home on vacation or otherwise at home awaiting a vessel assignment if and when the CDC permits cruising from U.S. ports. Carnival plans to make individual calls to follow up on some of the notices of termination.Carnival terminated the jobs of as many as one hundred and twenty crew members and officers working in the bridge across the Carnival fleet of ship.A number of crew members who were sent home on vacation   expressed their frustration that they have not been employed over the last five or six months in the belief that they were needed to be ready to re-join a Carnival ship on short notice. One crew member who contacted our office said why didn t Carnival notify me in April so I could find another job? It abandoned me and my family with two small kids without money. Last March, Carnival Corporation laid off hundreds of employees due to the coronavirus pandemic. Carnival eliminated and furloughed nearly 1,600 shore-side employees and reduced the compensation of many of those employees who were not terminated.The current round of terminations represents a little over 20% of the approximately 33,000 ship employees employed on Carnival Cruise Line s diminishing fleet of ships.Carnival Corporation recently announced that it was selling as many as eighteen cruise ships from its fleet, including four ships operated by Carnival Cruise Line including the Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Imagination and Carnival Fascination.The mass firings are an insight into the state of Carnival s dire financial affairs. According to a 8-K form which Carnival filed with the SEC last week, Carnival s cash burn was $770,000,000 for 3Q 2020, which ended with Carnival having only $8,200,000,000 of cash and cash equivalents. As of August 31, 2020, approximately 45 percent of guests affected by the company s schedule changes have received enhanced FCCs (future cruise credits) and approximately 55 percent have requested refunds. Total customer deposits balance at August 31, 2020, was $2.4 billion, the majority of which are FCCs (future cruise credits), compared to total customer deposits balance of $2.9 billion at May 31, 2020. The bottom line is that loyal cruise fans are essentially providing a free loan to Carnival of several billions of dollars. Many of the individuals undoubtedly lost their jobs or financed their cruises in the first place.Have a comment or question? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.September 20, 2020 Update:Another crew member send me a copy of the termination letter he recently received from Carnival Cruise Line.September 21, 2020 Update:Carnival disputes this article; however, it refuses to state the number of officers and crew members terminated and/or asked not to return, including the number of senior officers so affected. Other sites reported on Carnival s mass firings, including the popular Crew Center which stated that in the past few days, Carnival Cruise Line has laid off more than a hundred shipboard deck and engine personnel. Included in the terminations was Carnival Cruise Line officer Marion Grammatica who has spent 15 years of his career working on the Carnival cruise ships (see LinkedIn site here).September 22, 2020 Update:The Orlando Weekly writes: Florida-based Carnival, losing more than $17,000 a minute, offloads 18 ships in effort to stay afloat.September 27, 2020 Update:The Wall Street Journal reports Carnival Cruise Line Lays Off More Than 100 Ship Officers as it Shrinks Fleet.Photo credits: Carnival Inspiration top Altairisfar Public Domain, commons / wikimedia: Carnival Imagination middle Matthew Baker CC BY-SA 3.0, commons / wikimedia.Today, Saturday September 19th, Hurtigruten confirmed that a guest on board the MS Finnmarken tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Norwegian newspaper VG.The person in question who was tested is associated with the group which Hurtigruten chartered the expedition cruise ship to. The cruise ship is being used as a hotel in connection with the filming of the new Mission Impossible movie.The person who tested positive reportedly has had no symptoms so far. He will be tested again today.  The results of the repeat test is expected later tonight or tomorrow.  On the advice of health authorities, the infected person in question is currently  isolated ashore.The cruise ship is at the dock in Åndalsnes in Rauma.Hurtigruten is the cruise line where a total of 71 people were infected with COVID-19 on the MS Roald Amundsen (right) this summer. 29 passengers and 42 employees were confirmed positive with COVID-19 by the Norwegian National Institute of Public Health according to the Norwegian Press. An investigation determined that Hurtigruten permitted crew members to begin work on the ship without being tested when they should have been under quarantine.Earlier in the summer, a guest and his wife aboard a second Hurtigruten cruise ship, the MS Fridtjof Nansen, also contracted the virus. The cruise ship permitted the couple to return home where the husband later died.If you have a comment or question, please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Photo credit: MS Finnmarken VG; MS Roald Amundsen – Hurtigruten.Yesterday, Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio introduced proposed legislation, called the Set Sail Safely Act in an attempt to circumvent the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from evaluating whether it is safe to resume cruises from ports in Florida, according to the Florida Politics (FLAPOL) website. The text for S.4592 has not yet been received for publication.The Florida Senators are trying to re-start cruising from ports in Florida by stressing the economic benefits to cruise lines and ports which operate in this state. Senator Scott talked about enacting legislation to solve the coronavirus but mentioned no protocols which could possibly accomplish such a feat. Senator Rubio mentiond that the bill would permit cruise lines and port authorities to safely resume operations, allowing our valuable tourism economy, and the people it employs, to begin to recover.”FLAPOL correctly points out that most cruise ships are flagged and registered under different (non-U.S.) countries, so there is little American federal regulation. The Rubio-Scott bill does not speak to any regulation or enforcement. The Miami Herald s Taylor Dolven echoed this in a tweet posted yesterday:“The Rubio-Scott bill does not speak to any regulation or enforcement.” https://t.co/yWf5eLIMaL Taylor Dolven (@taydolven) September 16, 2020What is conspicuously absent from reports about the the bill is any mention that the CDC is responsible for deciding whether and when cruise lines will resume sailing from U.S. ports. The CDC first suspended cruise operations from U.S. ports in mid-March, finding that due to unique characteristics of cruise travel (international customers and crew congregating in dense, close spaces) exacerbated the global spread of COVID-19 and inundated local healthcare systems in port communities. The CDC extended its original no-sail order until July 24, 2020 and, more recently, until September 30, 2020.The CDC was very critical in its last no-sail order after finding that certain cruise lines failed to comply with its guidelines. Other cruise lines openly flaunted the authority of the CDC by hosting open-deck crew parties where crew members and officers were filmed crowded together on the decks of several ships with no regard for social distancing or the wearing of masks. Crew members were also forced to stay in single cabins when the CDC ordered them to stay in seperate cabins. Other cruise lines lied to their employees about repatriation issues and unreasonably delayed their return home. Finally, most companies sailed their ships away from U.S. waters to try and escape the oversight of the federal agency.A virtual meeting recently took place between Miami-Dade comissioners and cruise executives where they openly scolded the CDC and demanded that the agency permit the industry to reopen cruises from Florida ports.FLAPOL reported that the bill would involve the creation of a Maritime Task Force consisting of several federal agencies (excluding the CDC) and led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with the purpose of developing a plan for the safe resumption of cruise line operations.The federal agencies mentioned in the proposed legislation included the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, Health and Human Services, Department of Transportation, Department of State and the Federal Maritime Commission. These agencies would consult with private sector stakeholders consisting of the cruise line industry, as well as U.S. ports, commercial fishermen, small businesses, and health professionals. Development on the road to cruising returning in the USA. Though as the bill does not include organisations like the CDC in the health side, it seems odd. Suggests a political move to try and circumvent? Of course, it’s a bill that no doubt takes ages to work through system too https://t.co/dT0mAHWMYe Gary Bembridge (@garybembridge) September 17, 2020The CDC as I understand it is the only authority that can (currently) allow cruising to resume. It seems really odd. Sceptics are arguing this is a political move by 2 senators with vested interests in cruising resuming. Can’t see this bill getting very far Gary Bembridge (@garybembridge) September 17, 2020Excluding the CDC from the so-called task force is an obvious and petty effort by the cruise lines and their allies in Congress to further rail against the agency and escape further oversight by this important agency. Neither Florida Senator Scott nor Senator Rubio are supporters of causes that would benefit consumers or crew members. They are part of a Republican Congress that supports big business at the expense of the environment. These politicians will bend over backwards to support the cruise industry, notwithstanding its foreign (non U.S.) incorporation and registration of its cruise ships in order to avoid U.S. income tax, U.S. wage and labor laws, and U.S. occupational heath and safety laws. Rubio stressed that the cruise and maritime industries are vital to the prosperity of our state’s economy.   And Scott said “Florida is a tourism state with thousands of jobs relying on the success of our ports, cruise lines and maritime industries. The majority of the proposed governmental members of the task force (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Transportation, Department of State and the Federal Maritime Commission) are not agencies which have any expertise or experience with issues of public health and epidemiology. Excluding the best health agency in the world from the process of evaluating whether and how the cruise industry should resume cruising is not only odd, as some commentators have suggested, but makes the Set Sail Safely task force a farce.Have a thought or question? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Photo credit: Top Port of Miami Florida PoliticsYesterday s zoom meeting for the tourism and ports committee brought executives for the major cruise lines together with Miami-Dade commissioners. Agenda item number one involved Miami-Dade County Tourism and Ports Committee Chair Rebeca Sosa discussing the opening plan for the cruise line. The problem, of course, is that none of the Miami-based cruise lines in attendance have submitted any proposed updated health and safety plans to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the CDC to even consider.During the meeting, commissioner Sosa berated and scolded the CDC, telling the federal agency to listen to the plans, correct the plans   Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCL) s CEO Frank Del Rio (above, second from left), who was the most vocal critic of the CDC at the virtual meeting, promised that NCL would submit its health protocol proposal, in conjunction with Royal Caribbean Group, to the CDC within the next 10 days. Commissioner Sosa mentioned that the cruise lines were working on what she somehow characterized as a safe, most-comprehensive plan at the excess of possibility. She did not address the fact that the cruise lines have had six months to develop the long-awaited plans. Ms. Sosa praised the cruise lines and noted that NCL and Royal Caribbean hired a number of experts to develop the joint health protocols. She apparently did not realize that one expert on the cruise lines Healthy Sail Panel was the former head of the FDA, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who said in early March, before he was paid by the cruise lines, that “I don’t think anybody should be taking a cruise right now … this is a very sticky pathogen.” The doctor explained last March 9th, that once it gets inside a closed space such as a cruise ship, it spreads widely. He gave the Diamond Princess cruise ship as an example of the wide-spread of COVID-19, where more than 700 people were infected and over a dozen people subsequently died. “It’s an awful risk to pack a lot of people on a cruise ship,” Dr. Gottlieb said.Commissioner Sosa also falsely claimed that the cruise lines have been safely sailing in Europe for the past month with all regulations without any problems.  Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa falsely claimed at yesterday s zoom meeting that #cruise lines have been safely sailing in Europe for the past month with all regulations without any problems. https://t.co/TrmtPKquTl James (Jim) Walker (@CruiseLaw) September 11, 2020The truth is that COVID-19 has plagued cruise ship operations in Europe ever since they restarted. Last month, 29 passengers and 42 employees were confirmed positive with COVID-19 on Hurtigruten s MS Roald Amundsen. A guest and his wife aboard a second Hurtigruten cruise ship, the MS Fridtjof Nansen, also contracted the virus. The cruise ship permitted the couple to return home where the husband died.  Passengers and crew members on board the SeaDream Yacht Club s SeaDream I were quarantined after a passenger tested positive for COVID-19 in August. In July and August, ten crew members employed by Carnival-owned AIDA Cruises tested positive for COVID-19. Five crew members working for TUI / Mein Schiff tested positive which required the cancelation of a cruise on the Mein Schiff 1. You can read accounts of these cases here. Nine Costa crew members on the Costa Favolosa and Costa Deliziosa tested positive.MSC Cruise has experienced some success in Europe with its health protocols when pre-boarding testing revealed that five guests who intended to board the MSC Grandiosa tested positive for the virus. They were denied boarding at the gangway. But other cruise lines in Europe do not require COVID-19 tests, such as CroisiEurope river cruise ships where at least seven passengers and crew members tested positive just this week. Sixty-five other guests departed from the ship and returned to their countries (France, Belgium and Switzerland), according to the Portuguese newspaper Expresso. These passengers need to be tested for the virus. A week ago, a DJ aboard the Royal Caribbean owned Silver Spirit tested positive for COVID-19 during a Red Sea cruise which resulted in the cancellation of the cruise. Over 400 crew members are now waiting test results.All of these cruises were expected to “test the waters,” so to speak, before the larger U.S. cruise lines were to resume cruises out of U.S. ports. All of these companies touted their health protocols and promised that their top priorities were the health and safety of their passengers and crew members. But the reality is that the protocols, which differ from cruise line to cruise line, still permitted over 100 passengers and crew members on cruise ships in Europe, to be infected with the virus (with 400 crew members on the Silver Spirit alone awaiting their test results and 65 guests from the CroisiEurope river cruise ship who need to be tested ). In addition, the Miami Herald just reported today that at least 7 ships in U.S. waters reported COVID-19 or COVID-like illnesses to the CDC in August. CEO Del Rio dramatically claimed during the meeting that the cruise industry is close to devastation. But in early May when there were reports that NCL may be forced to consider Chapter 11 reorganization, Del Rio downplayed the possibility of bankruptcy and said that the company could survive for an additional 18 months without income. But during the meeting he stressed that we ve got to get to work, commissioner. Enough is enough, he said, claiming that “it will be safe to cruise from America. Pols and industry execs want to reboot cruise liners amid a global pandemic, ignoring safety concerns and claiming ships are no more dangerous than hotels. Critically ill people were being airlifted off these ships throughout the spring.By @taydolven https://t.co/GpzgXeGEiz Ben Conarck (@conarck) September 10, 2020Del Rio argued that although the CDC s no-sail order has shut down cruises from leaving U.S. ports since March yet we see airlines flying. I want someone to tell me how it s possible that COVID-19 doesn t occur on an airplane when you re sitting four inches away from a person . . .   This is an argument commonly made by the cruise line and many travel agents.The CDC has already explained that the confined space and density of cruise ships and other unique characteristics of cruise operations led to the exacerbation and spread of COVID-19 across the world.  The reference to travel by aircraft is particularly misleading: A flight from Miami to Atlanta, for example, is a little less than two hours. A flight to New York is less than three hours. Contrast that to a one-week cruise, which lasts around 168 hours, and potentially involves exposure to several thousands of other guests and ship employees on the ship. And regardless travel by cruise ship is completely voluntary and recreational in nature.Cruise Industry News quoted CEO Del Rio as saying that “all we re asking is opportunity to demonstrate that we take COVID19 very very seriously. Unfortunately, NCL in particular has demonstrated little concern for the CDC s guidelines over the last six months. Like many other cruise lines, NCL has directed its fleet of cruise ships to leave U.S. waters in order to avoid any obligation to comply with the CDC s jurisdiction.Del Rio proclaimed  during the zoom meeting that we ve been quiet for too long, but he has been the most vocal in the past, claiming that cruise restrictions should immediately stop as early as May. Remarkably, Del Rio stated months ago that “people are rushing to bars and restaurants as they reopen, they want to get back to their normal lives, and cruising is a part of their normal lives.” Del Rio seems to believe that disregarding the CDC’s guidelines for social distancing and the wearing of masks is a good thing rather than a major problem that needs to be discouraged.Ironically, NCL permitted its crew members to crowd together without masks during several parties earlier this month on the Norwegian Escape (above right) and Norwegian Epic (left) at the port of Miami. In an article titled “Ridiculously Overcrowded” Norwegian Escape Sails to Miami, we noted that after NCL assembled employees from several different NCL ships aboard the Norwegian Escape which sailed to Miami, the cruise line scheduled a series of parties on the pool decks of several of its ships. It made no effort to enforce social distancing or the wearing of masks.Hundreds of NCL crew members and dozens of officers openly mingled and crowded around bars on the pool deck of the NCL ship without masks. (We also posted a video of a crowded pool party in our article Norwegian Epic – the Latest NCL Cruise Ship to Ignore the CDC’s Social Distancing Rule). NCL also ignored the CDC s requirements that crew members be assigned separate cabins with balconies. NCL required its ship employees to double up in windowless cabins. This was reckless and a clear violation of the CDC’s guidelines.No one during the virtual meeting asked the cruise lines any questions about their health protocols or how the lines intended to avoid the ongoing problems which the European cruise market is experiencing.It was a cheering session for the cruise industry, per @taydolven , with no grilling on potential public health risks from cruise ships. https://t.co/EbLiSFsc54 Doug Hanks (@doug_hanks) September 10, 2020The cruise lines have demonstrated a consistently uncooperative if not hostile attitude toward the CDC since March. The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. is neither a hoax nor an exaggeration as the most vociferous cruise CEO would have you believe. COVID-19 continues at a daily rate of around 40,000 newly infected and over 1,000 dead in the U.S. Short of a tested and effective vaccine, cruising during a pandemic is nothing short of reckless and irresponsible. The spectacle of a misinformed and powerless county commissioner berating federal epidemiologists, public health specialists and scientists at the CDC may please frustrated cruise fans and some travel agents but it is a sign, unfortunately, of more disease and death to come.Have a comment or questions? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Image credits: Cruise Executives Seatrade Cruise News; Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Ecape crew parties anonymous crew member.Guests and crew members on a CroisiEurope river cruise ship on the Douro River in Portugal tested positive earlier this week for COVID-19, according to a Portugese newspaper TVi24 (with video).Two French passengers and five crew members on the Vasco da Gama river cruise ship tested positive for the virus, after a passenger began exhibiting symptoms on Monday September 7th. (The Vasco da Gama is not be confused with the cruise ship of the same name previously operated by the now defunct Cruise Maritime Voyages (CMV).  The cruise ship was reportedly preparing to disembark passengers at Cais da Lixa when the passenger fell ill.According to this newspaper, the passenger was hospitalized ashore. His test for COVID-19 was confirmed to be positive. His wife checked into a hotel ashore. Although she is asymptomatic, she was also tested and diagnosed with the virus. The information in the newspaper was reportedly confirmed from a source from the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARS) in Portugal.The other sixty-five guests departed from the ship and returned to their countries in France and Belgium before the health authority could intervene, according to another Portugese newspaper Expresso.The  crew members on the cruise ship were all tested on board the ship, according to these newspapers. Five of the crew members reportedly tested positive.The CroisiEurope company s COVID-19 precautions include the guests completion of a health questionnaire before boarding to inquire whether they are ill or have been in contact with anyone infected with coronavirus. The company also claims to perform temperature checks and daily checks on the symptoms of passengers and crew. There is a continuous process of disinfecting the spaces on the ship, the use of masks in the interior spaces of the ship, and the disinfection of all luggage on board. Social distancing must be adhered to and meals take place in two seatings with table service and assigned seating. However, there is no indication that the company requires COVID-19 tests of its guests before boarding, as required by other European cruise lines (MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises) which recently resumed cruising from Italian ports.CroisiEurope previously announced that it would restart its cruise operations in Europe as early as mid-July. The river cruise line initially restarted its sailings in France, and resumed cruises on the River Seine, Rhône, Rhine, Danube and Elbe rivers and the Burgundy Canal, later in July and early August. Cruises restarted on the Douro on August 7th. River cruise ships in Europe were expected to test the waters, so to speak, before the larger cruise lines were to resume cruises out of U.S. ports, assuming the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) permit them to do so.A spokesperson for CroisiEurope told World of Cruising two months ago that “our top priorities remain the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew members, as well as the smooth performance of our cruises during this unprecedented time.” The representative also claimed that we have focused rigorously on every detail to provide safe vacations and give peace of mind to our passengers . . . The company also refers to strict health protocols backed up by a partnership with Bureau Veritas (which) are in effect on all our ships. The company previously released a video (below) promoting its new worry-free health and safety protocols which are conspicuous in omitting any requirement for COVID-19 testing of guests before they board the CroisiEurope ships. Temperature checks are obviously not effective when the guests or crew members are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, as this case illustrates. Expecting a guest to accurately fill out a questionaire is wishful thinking.The next cruise abord the Vasco da Gama remains scheduled for September 14th.Have a question or comment? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.September 9. 2020 Update: The Points Guy covered the story this evening and cited post by the European press and certain travel agents:CroisiEurope Douro River cruise crew and passengers test positive for Covid-19 reports @CruiseLaw https://t.co/XAa7VcA1OE Gary Bembridge (@garybembridge) September 10, 2020September 11, 2020 Update: A Belgian newspaper reports that there were 35 Belgians, 30 French (include 2 infected with COVID-19) and two Swiss guests aboard the ship. After a few days during the cruise, one passenger appeared to feel unwell. He was taken to hospital to be tested for the virus, but the test was negative. A few days later, at the end of the cruise, a second test was performed and it turned out positive. Five crew members also tested positive. They are quarantined on the boat along with fifteen other crew members. The other passengers on their way back home and need to isolate themselves and be  tested.September 14, 2020 Update: A Portuguese newspaper, the Observador, in an article titled Covid-19. Up to eight infected on cruise ship on the Douro writes that the Regional Health Administration of the North reported that there was a sixth crew member infected with Covid-19 on the cruise ship of the company CroisiEurope that operates on the River Douro, in addition to two passengers. The river cruise ship remains moored in Castelo de Paiva , in the Aveiro district, since September 7th.Phto credits: Top phto and bottom video CroisiEurope; image grab from video TVi240.The first cruise from Saudi Arabia since the pandemic was cut short last week when a person on the Silversea Silver Spirit tested positive for COVID-19, according to several newspapers in the region.The Al Arabiya newspaper reported that the Silver Spirit cruise ship sailed on Thursday, August 27th from King Abdullah Port in King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia.  The ship carried Saudi Arabian passengers on the Kingdom’s first cruise since COVID-19 struck the cruise industry last February and March. The Silversea cruise ship had been chartered to the Red Sea Cruise Ship Company owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia which marketed the Silver Spirit exclusively to Saudi nationals for three and four-day cruises in the Red Sea out of the King Abdullah Port. This port is located on the Red Sea coast and is the Kingdom’s newest commercial port in close proximity to Jeddah and other key Saudi cities.The Silver Spirit sailed with 450 guests, 75% of its operational capacity of around 600 passengers, consistent with its preventative protocols against coronavirus.The newspapers which covered the story characterized the woman suspected with COVID-19 as a passenger. But according to several crew members on the ship who prefer to remain anonymous, the person was hired as a disc jockey (DJ) by the company which chartered the ship. She along with the guests who booked the cruise had undergone tests for coronavirus which were reportedly negative. However, before the ship sailed she visited with a family member who exposed her to COVID-19. After she boarded and sailed on the Silver Spirit on the 27th of August, she began to exhibit symptoms of the virus which she reported to the ship s medical center.Silversea decided to return the ship to King Abdullah Port on Saturday August 29th, in the morning. The cruise line then informed all of the passengers of the existence of a suspected coronavirus case and asked the guests to stay in their rooms. Fourteen crew members were also suspected of coronavirus and were quarantined in cabins on the ship, and later taken ashore with the DJ for testing. The DJ tested positive at a hospital for COVID-19; the 14 crew members tested negative for the virus, according to other crew members.Tomorrow (September 9th), all crew members (who are currently quarantined on the ship) will reportedly be tested for the virus. Assuming the crew members test negative, the next cruise will proceed on September 13th.Royal Caribbean Group, which owns Silversea Cruises, is one of several U.S. based cruise lines which are testing their health and safety protocols in sailings in Europe and elsewhere before they try to resume operations out of U.S. ports, once the CDC permits them to do so. Royal Caribbean will have to study and understand exactly how this individual came into contact with coronavirus and was infected even though she underwent testing before the ship sailed.The Silver Spirit became the first ultra-luxury cruise ship to sail with a certification in infection prevention from DNV GL, the world’s leading classification society. The ship was awarded the certification on August 24, 2020, just three days before the ship sailed on the cruise in question. MarineInsight quoted Roberto Martinoli, Silversea’s President and CEO, who referred to the Royal Caribbean Group and its Healthy Sail Panel, as saying “we are proud to become the first ultra-luxury cruise line to gain the certification in infection prevention for maritime, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of our guests, crew and the destinations we visit.”The Silver Spirit (MarineTaffic image right, in blue) is currently to the west of King Abdullah Port, off of the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. It will likely sail into the port tomorrow for the COVID-19 testing of its crew.September 9, 2020 Update: The Silver Spirit cruise ship returned to King Abdullah Port for COVID-19 testing of its crew members today, following the positive test of a woman on the ship on August 29th as confirmed in the hospital.September 9, 2020 Update: The popular YouTube page @Travellingwithbruce covered this issue in the video below:Have a question or comment? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Photo credit: Silver Spirit (top) Saudi Gazette; Silver Spirit (bottom) by Brian Burnell and uploaded to Commons by George Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons / wikimedia.The newly formed Global Cruise Activist Network launched its website and convened a virtual press conference today.Representatives of environmental groups, cruise ship crime organizations and port communities worldwide joined forces to demand that the cruise industry not return to business-as-usual after COVID-19. Approximately 100 members of the network attended the conference, as well as representatives from news organizations from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Italy, Norway, the U.K., the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas.The network addressed many issues involving the cruise industry which I have focused on with this blog over the years shipboard crime against women and children, environmental crimes involving air and water pollution, abuse of crew members, over-tourism and exploitation of port communities.The network includes several members of the International Cruise Victims organization, including a passenger who survived the Costa Concordia disaster with her husband and family and now helps coordinate a group supporting cruise victims. The network also includes a former cruise employee who helps coordinate a labor rights group supporting crew members still stranded at sea, as well as an international group dedicated to ending the exploitation of crew members at sea.The network introduced a global set of guidelines called the “Principles of Responsible Cruise Tourism” which it wants the cruise line to follow before cruise ships start sailing again.A recording of the virtual press conference, as well as photos from some of the activists, are available online. “The Global Cruise Activist Network is giving a voice to people living in port communities worldwide. Our organizing efforts are giving us the power we desperately need, to better organize in our communities and to demand that the cruise industry doesn’t return to business as usual as it starts sailing again after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Karla Hart of Juneau Alaska, one of the organizers of the network. “Through the network, our members have been able to support fellow activists in demanding additional noise restrictions, better understand how ports and cruise terminals are being financed; share what works for community-led air and water pollution monitoring; learn from locations dealing with referendums and legal actions; and track where and when cruise ships are returning.”“The Global Cruise Activist Network is calling for an equitable and responsible system of leisure travel that optimizes economic benefits to all stakeholders, while eliminating the negative social, public health, and environmental impacts of cruising on port communities, workers, and passengers. We oppose the return of a ‘business-as-usual’ cruise ship industry. Until these common sense policies are collectively adopted, effectively implemented, and consistently monitored, the cruise industry will remain complicit in putting passengers, crew, communities, and the planet at risk,” said Jane da Mosto of Venice, Italy. Each member of the network is focused on a specific set of principles that are unique to the needs and demands of their area. These principles include:Self-determination: Respect the universal right to self-determination of each home port and ports of call, including nearby Indigenous communities.Economic impacts: Address the cruise industry’s ongoing history of exploitive business practices by implementing policies that maximize the retention of revenue within home ports and ports of calls.Labor: Create a safe, just, and equitable environment for workers on board and on shore by aligning with the strictest labor and environmental standards in the world.Climate change: Stop contributing to climate change by publicly committing to achieving zero emissions across the entire global fleet, including implementing slow-steaming protocols, halting LNG investments, and eliminating the use of heavy fuel oil globally.Air and water pollution: Stop polluting the air and water by leading the development of a universal shore power system, ceasing the use of scrubbers, and stopping the dumping of all waste near shore.Monitoring and transparency: Install continuous air and water monitoring equipment and publicly disclose the performance, and support third-party monitoring.Environment and biodiversity: Reduce speeds near coasts to prevent whale strikes and avoid sonic disturbances to sensitive coastal and marine wildlife, stop development of private cruise destinations; and eliminate dumping of all plastic waste.Public health: Notify passengers of the potential health risks of breathing ship exhaust, implement measures to control the spread of disease, and when an outbreak occurs, cease all travel immediately and provide real-time reporting of infectious diseases.Crime victims: Institute policies and practices to protect passengers, including from sexual assault, and implement Man Overboard Detection technology.Worker repatriation: Provide for the repatriation of all ship-based crew in the event of future disease outbreaks and ensure that crew members who remain on board are being adequately paid.The Global Cruise Activist Network’s logo features two international maritime flags representing the letters K and L, which communicate “I wish to communicate with you” (K or Kilo) and “You should stop your vessel immediately” (L or Lima).Learn more by visiting the network s website.The virtual press conference was covered by the Nelson Daily,  Cayman Compass, Loop Cayman, Cayman News Serrvice, Juneau Empire, Tribune (Nassau), Guardian (Nassau) and Eyewitness News in the Bahamas.The Cayman Compass reported: Some have been fighting air and water pollution issues; others, like those in Cayman, are opposing plans to build or expand cruise ports in their towns or islands; several were campaigning to reduce the frequency of cruise visits and the numbers of cruise ship passengers descending on their neighborhoods; and still others were battling against the dumping of cruise garbage. The Cayman News Service reported on the press conference and included one of the many photographs (left) taken of Carnival ships: A leading member of the Cruise Port Referendum campaign and local environmental activist, Linda Clark, has joined a new global organisation which is calling for major change in the cruise sector. With growing concerns here about the negative impact of mass cruise tourism, Clark hopes this new group will help Cayman benefit more from the sector and reduce the environment damage when cruise ships return to George Town.Have a comment or question? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Carnival Freedom – Anonymous; Venice Jim WalkerItaly has given the green light to Costa and AIDA  to resume cruising from Italian ports this month. Meanwhile, the number of positive COVID-19 cases on Costa cruise ships in Italy increased to nine this weekend, according to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. The Costa Deliziosa (below right) has four crew members with positive COVID-19 cases; the Costa Favoalosa (top) has five crew members  who tested positive for the virus.The number of COVID-19 positive crew cases on the Costa Deliziosa cruise ship increased from two, reported a week ago, to four crew members. The newspaper reports that the additional crew members infected with the virus are part of a group of Filipinos who were supposed to be involved in the re-start operations.The newspaper explains that new crew members who are expected to part of the re-start operations are “tested and kept in solitary confinement for fifteen days.” However, two Costa employees on the Costa Deliziosa were found positive and immediately transferred to a hospital in Spallanzani, Italy. The remaining crew members were placed in solitary confinement in their cabins. Quarantine measures were imposed and the crew members were not permitted to get on and off the ship.Il Messaggero also reported that five crew members (up from one reported last week) on the Costa Favolosa tested positive for the virus and were kept in isolation. The newspaper states that the Costa Favolosa also “remains stuck on the dock” due to the positive COVID-19 cases.A week ago, we reported that a total of three Filipino Costa crew members tested positive from the Costa Favolosa and Costa Deliziosa.The increased number of positive crew tests comes at a time when Italy has given permission to Costa and MSC Cruises to resume their cruise operations. The lines have announced their new protocols designed to respond to the COVID pandemic. MSC’s protocols include COVID-19 swab tests of the passengers and plans to operate its first ship, the 4,842-passenger MSC Grandiosa, beginning as early as August 16th, at an occupancy of 70% according to The Points Guy. The ship will sail seven-night voyages out of Genoa to Civitavecchia, Naples and Palermo in Italy; and Valletta, Malta. A second MSC Cruises ship, the 2,550-passenger MSC Magnifica, will sail out of Italy on August 29th with seven-night cruises from the ports of Bari and Trieste to the Greek ports of Corfu, Katakolon and Piraeus.Italy gives the green light to COSTA and MSC to re-start cruise operations. Thoughts anyone?Posted by Cruise Law News onSaturday, August 8, 2020When we posted the news on our Facebook page that cruising on Costa and MSC cruise ships would shortly re-start from Italy to ports in the Mediterranean, many felt that this was a prudent development in light of the new protocols recently announced by Costa (which you can read here) and MSC (available here). MSC Cruises is the first cruise line to announce protocols which include peerforming  rapid COVID-19 test of every passenger just before boarding on the day of departure. Popular travel blogger Gene  Sloan tweeted about the resuming of cruising by Costa and MSC, which in my estimation, will undoubtedly lead to additional outbreaks of COVID-19.Let the countdown to #COVID-19 #cruise outbreaks in Italy to resume! https://t.co/PcaIRlWmmz James (Jim) Walker (@CruiseLaw) August 9, 2020Crew members are understandably eager to return to work on the ships and support their families. However, an equal number of people believe that it is too soon to be resuming cruising and the cruise lines are being greedy and reckless resuming vacation cruises during a pandemic.Have a comment or question? Please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.Photo credits: Costa Favolosa   Hannes Grobe CC BY-SA 4.0, commons / wikimedia;  Costa Deliziosa Drdoht CC0, commons / wikimedia.Cruise ship accidents, injuries, crimes, disappearances, fires, and collisions on the high seas involve issues of maritime law.  Jim Walker graduated from law school in 1983 and has been handling maritime law cases for the past thirty-five years. He handles a wide variety of cases from serious injuries to the highest profile sexual assault and cruise crime cases.Read More...

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