Genting Cruise Lines plans to be the first cruiseship owner to pull up anchor on its vessels amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cruiseship fleets worldwide began laying up their ships in mid-March because of onboard virus outbreaks, leading to a sector-wide freeze on cruising that lasts to this day.
Over the past three months, owners have extended their suspensions several times as they try to figure out how to return to service while preventing more outbreaks.
For a few weeks, Carnival Corp was expected to be the first to sail some ships by 1 August, but it postponed again to 30 September.
Many other outfits did the same at the urging of the Cruise Lines International Association to exceed a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ban on cruiseship movements in US territories to 24 July.
Enter Genting Cruise Lines, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong with 18 ships under three brands: Crystal Cruises, Star Cruises and Dream Cruises.
Four-ship Dream Cruises plans to take its 2,800-berth Explorer Dream (built 1999) out of lay-up on 26 July with two-night and three-night “Taiwan Island-Hopping” itineraries, departing from Keelung and calling at Penghu, Matzu and Kinmen islands.
“After months of detailed planning with the authorities to ensure the safety and health of guests and crew, we appreciate the approval of Explorer Dream resuming cruise operations in Taiwan", Genting Hong Kong chief executive Lim Kok Thay said in a statement.
Taiwan is 'ideal'
"Dream Cruises will be the first cruise line in the world to begin sailing after the global cruise industry was shut down due to the pandemic."
He said Dream Explorer will be the first ship to receive classification society DNV GL's certification in infection prevention for the marine industry.
Genting described Taiwan as "the ideal destination" to resume Dream Cruises’ operations due to its success in controlling the pandemic within its borders.
The company has also given Dream Explorer a deep cleaning as required by Taiwanese authorities and implemented social-distancing practices throughout the entire vessel.
Most of the crew has been quarantined for the past three months and will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine on land after the ship arrives in Keelung on 30 June.
Health screening
"Upon negative nucleic acid test results, an additional seven-day isolation period on board Explorer Dream will provide a total of 21 days of exhaustive preventive procedures before operations begin on 26 July," Genting said.
All passengers will undergo stringent health screening and all cabins will receive filtered external fresh air and can be turned into quarantine rooms as needed.
Star Cruises' 1,511-berth SuperStar Aquarius (built 1993) and 1,530-berth SuperStar Gemini (built 1992) are in Singapore, temporarily accommodating foreign workers after it finished assessments on safe distancing practices, ventilation and infection control.
