by Staff Writer
St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): A second cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas is now docked for safe harbour, approved for 60 days, at Port Zante.
The Ministry of Tourism in a press release Friday (December 11) reminded the public of the travel requirements, health and safety protocols that are in place.
The Grandeur of the Seas with 72 crew members, joins Rhapsody of the Seas that arrived with 78 crew members, for a safe harbour on Sunday, December 6, 2020.
The St. Kitts Tourism Authority stated that in the event a crew member tested positive for COVID-19, on entry into St. Kitts and Nevis, the vessel will have to leave for international waters.
Crew members are to be quarantined for 14 days and an RT-PCR test is to be administered at the end of the quarantine.
They are also not allowed to mingle with the local population after the mandatory 14-day quarantine period, a decision, Royal Caribbean said, it made in the interest of the safety of the Federation and the ships’ crew.
The St Kitts Tourism Authority issued this notice on the arrival of the Grandeur of the Seas.
Dear Tourism Stakeholders,
The Royal Caribbean Group vessel Grandeur of the Seas arrived in St. Kitts for “Safe Harbouring” today with adherence to the Federation’s COVID-19 regulations, including arrival travel requirements, and health and safety protocols for all international travelers.
Grandeur of the Seas came alongside Port Zante, at 8:50 am local time with 72 crew members.
Upon arrival at Port Zante, the crew for Grandeur of the Seas was required to do the following:
The Safe Harbour as been approved for 60 days.
Mandatory 14-day quarantine onboard the vessel or quarantine for the number of days as per their transition time from their last port.
Complete a RT-PCR test at the end of the 14 day-quarantine period or mandated quarantine period based on their transition time for their last port.
In the event a crew member tests positive for Covid 19 on entry into St. Kitts, the vessel will have to leave Port Zante for International waters.
Very limited physical interaction with crew members of both vessels during the mandatory quarantine.
SCASPA’s Pilots will not be required to provide any physical assistance to facilitate berthing for either vessel.
Coast Guard assistance will not be required, unless in the case of an emergency.
Royal Caribbean’s ship agent, Delisle Walwyn will be provisioning the cruise vessels.
Containers of supplies will be imported and delivered to both the Grandeur of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas.
The items will be dropped off on the Pier without any physical interaction between Delisle Walwyn staff and the crew.
Crew exchange will be done only via air and all crew embarking ships and disembarking must adhere to the Federation’s travel requirements for arrival and departure.
All crew members arriving by air must under the mandatory 14-day quarantine on the respective vessel.
Royal Caribbean Group has advised crew members are not allowed to integrate into the Federation post the 14 day mandatory quarantine and negative RT-PCR test on day 14. This was done to keep both the Federation and the crew safe during Safe Harbouring.
Please note the link https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/crew-disembarkations-commercial-travel.html outlines the CDC criteria for all cruise vessels and vessels approved by the CDC to remain in operation with crew. Both Rhapsody of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas are classified as “Green Ships”.
The Green Ship Criteria is outlined below:
No confirmed cases of COVID-19 or COVID-like illness for 28 days, as determined by a qualified medical professional.
If the ship received ship-to-ship transfers within the past 28 days, crew must have come from a ship that had no confirmed COVID-19 or COVID-like illness within the 28 days before the transfer occurred.
If land-based crew embarked, they were immediately quarantined for 14 days upon embarking the ship.
Note: To maintain Green status, ships must submit a weekly EDC form to the CDC. Failure to submit, changes ship status to Red. Green ship status means that CDC believes the ship is currently unaffected by COVID-19 based on information provided by the cruise ship operator.
