Holland America cruise ships still in limbo
Deal made to allow 2 of them to dock in Florida
Holland America has reached a deal with authorities that will allow the cruise line to dock two of its ships, the MS Zaandam and MS Rotterdam, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“It’s my understanding that the unified command has now reached an agreement with Broward County to allow the folks (on board) to disembark,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told USA TODAY on Thursday. “We were made privy of the details yesterday, and we’re hopeful that this new protocol that they’ve agreed to will sufficiently insulate our people in Fort Lauderdale at risk of (contracting) the disease.”
Four elderly passengers on the Zaandam
died. Two of the four deaths on board the Zaandam have been blamed on COVID-19, and nine people have tested positive, the cruise line said.
Between the Zaandam and Rotterdam a total of 107 passengers and 143 crew members have presented flu-like symptoms since March 22, according to a Holland America statement provided by spokesperson Sally Andrews. Symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 are similar.
Passengers who passed a health screening were transferred to the Rotterdam last weekend. The passengers on board both ships will disembark in stages based on whether they have symptoms of the illness and the severity of them, Trantalis explained.
Trantalis also announced the agreement on social media, and shared some of his thoughts on the deal.
Officials had initially been apprehensive about the possibility of the ships docking in Fort Lauderdale given the risk that it could pose to the community and the potential to spread coronavirus due to the confirmed coronavirus cases on board the MS Zaandam.
“We’re assuming people who get sick have COVID,” William Burke, chief maritime officer of Carnival Corp., which owns Holland America Line, said Tuesday during a Broward County Commission meeting, though only nine had tested positive at the time.
Trantalis said that regulations in the agreement allowing the ships to dock will provide “strong safeguards” to the community.
“I met yesterday with the president of Holland America to share these concerns,” Trantalis wrote. “Holland America agreed to a strict set set of protocols if the county decided to allow the ships to dock.”
In a Thursday statement, Holland America expressed relief that a deal has finally been struck, ending the ships’ saga, which began in mid-March when Chile denied the MS Zaandam permission to end the cruise there.
The ships are carrying 311 Americans and 52 Florida residents.