The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance issued Friday that finally allows vessels to be fully resumed in U.S. waters, although it does not include a date for when ships may sail.
The CDC first issued a sail order in March 2020 and the industry, which has been operating under a “conditional sail order” (CSO) since the end of October, wants a date to sail again.
Instead, the agency on Friday offered technical instructions on reducing the spread of COVID-19 and how to deal with outbreaks at sea.
According to the CDC, this phase of the conditional sail order will include simulated voyages that enable crew and port personnel to practice new COVID-19 operational procedures with volunteers before sailing with passengers.
The CDC’s update includes a requirement to increase the COVID-19 reporting frequency from weekly to daily. It also updates a color coding system used to classify ships associated with COVID-19, and handles routine crew testing based on a ship’s color status.
“Safe and responsible sailing during a global pandemic is difficult,” the CDC said in a statement. ‘While the voyage will always involve a risk of COVID-19 transmission, the following phases of the CSO will ensure that passenger operations of the cruise ship take place in a manner that protects crew members, passengers and port staff, especially with emerging COVID-19s. variant comes. ‘
The update comes after the cruise industry last week called on the CDC to resume shipping from U.S. ports by early July.
Industry group Cruise Lines International Association said a reboot in July would bring the industry in line President Biden
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“The lack of action by the CDC has banned all shipping in the largest shipping market in the world,” the group wrote. “The outdated CSO, issued almost five months ago, does not reflect the proven progress and success of the industry in other parts of the world, nor does it vaccinate vaccines, and treats cruises unfairly differently.”
Companies have announced the resumption of shipping in other parts of the world. Royal Caribbean announced in early March that it would “fully vaccinated” speed. The cruise ship’s newest ship, the Odyssey of the Seas, will be launched for the first time from Haifa, Israel, in May.