More than a dozen Carnival Cruise Line ships occupied the waters off Nassau Harbour Saturday to undertake what the Ministry of Transport said was “a routine embarkation of fresh crew on to a number of their vessels”.
“In an operation supervised for safety and health safety in all of its aspects, Carnival Corporation has completed a routine embarkation of some 160 fresh crew members onto 13 of their ships offshore Nassau Harbour,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The crew members arrived at 6:30 (Saturday morning) on a private charter flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, and complied in all respects with all of The Bahamas’ medical, immigration and customs requirements, including the production of a required individual negative COVID-19 test prior to entry.
“They were transferred nonstop directly to the harbor, where waiting chartered launches ferried them directly to their ships.
“The entire operation – from arrival at the airport to embarkation aboard their ships – took little more than eight hours, and has been completed safely.
“Every aspect of the plan, from arrival of the individuals through to their departure, was reviewed and agreed with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, the Port Department, and The Bahamas Maritime Authority.
“All measures, including hygiene, masking, distancing, disinfection, cleaning, were specified and compliance was carefully monitored.”
The ministry said the operation was only for the new crews to embark and no existing crew or shipboard personnel “were allowed to leave any ship or to have any contact with any shore-side personnel”.
The ministry at no time, including during the Saturday operation, “has any permission ever been given for the ships to undertake discharges in Bahamian waters”.
“Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many crew have been unable to move from their ships for protracted periods of time,” the ministry said.
“The provision of fresh crew assures continued smooth operation in accordance with international standards and requirements.
“We are also proud of the fact that The Bahamas has played a role in complying with the United Nations’ call for the essential movement of seamen, and that we have done so in such a safe, rapid and efficient manner.
“We thank our citizens for their continued vigilance in enquiring regarding this operation.”
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/carnival-ships-get-fresh-crew-in-embarkation-exercise/
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