Forum: All safety steps being taken for cruises to nowhere

Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas ship. PHOTO: ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL

We thank Dr Hussin Mutalib for his feedback (Cruises pose greater risk of Covid-19 transmission, Oct 12).

We agree that the safety and well-being of the local community, as well as passengers and crew, should be our top priority. That is why the pilot cruise sailings will require all passengers to be tested for Covid-19 prior to boarding the cruise.

Cruise ships will also sail at a reduced capacity of up to 50 per cent. To further reduce the risk of transmission, these sailings will be round trips with no ports of call and open only to Singapore residents.

The ship's crew will also be tested three times and isolated for 14 days in their home country and another 14 days in Singapore prior to starting work, a protocol which goes beyond Singapore's prevailing requirements for cross-border travel.

Prior to sailing, cruise lines must obtain Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) CruiseSafe certification programme, which sets out stringent hygiene and safety measures throughout the passenger journey.

In developing the programme, we consulted widely with medical and industry experts, and benchmarked it against global standards, from the World Health Organisation to World Tourism Organisation to Cruise Lines International Association, as well as Singapore's safe management measures and SG Clean.

Some of these measures include no recirculation of air, strict and frequent cleaning and sanitisation protocols, and instituting rapid and clear emergency response plans for any suspected Covid-19 incidents.

On board the ship, all land-based safe management measures (such as those applicable in a restaurant or a recreational facility) will also be applied. To ensure compliance, independent third-party inspectors will conduct regular on-board inspections.

With these measures in place, the Government has assessed that the pilot cruises are as safe as most activities and settings that have since resumed in Singapore.

We will continue to monitor global standards and protocols and update the measures accordingly. The outcomes of the pilot sailings will also be monitored carefully in the coming months before further decisions are made.

Annie Chang

Director, Cruise

Singapore Tourism Board

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 16, 2020, with the headline Forum: All safety steps being taken for cruises to nowhere. Subscribe