Hurtigruten has announced the suspension of all its expedition cruises. The announcement follows the positive Covid-19 test results of 36 crew members and at least four guests who were on board Roald Amundsen.
Hurtigruten issued a statement: “As a response to the coronavirus outbreak on board MS Roald Amundsen, Hurtigruten temporarily suspends all expedition sailings on MS Roald Amundsen, MS Fridtjof Nansen and MS Spitsbergen until further notice.”
CEO Daniel Skjeldam responded: “In light of the recent increase in new cases of COVID-19 globally, the only responsible choice is to suspend all expedition sailings until we are absolutely confident, we can carry out our operations in line with all requirements from the authorities and with the even stricter requirements we have set for ourselves.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew is Hurtigruten’s number one priority. We are now focusing all available efforts in taking care of our guests and colleagues. We are working closely with the Norwegian National and Local Health Authorities for follow-up, information, further testing, and infection tracking.”
Norway’s health authorities, Shipping Watch are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the outbreak while the mayor of Tromso in Norway has criticised the company for allowing passengers to disembark before the ship announced it was dealing with the outbreak of coronavirus and is now fearing that there could be a potential local outbreak in the event that not all passengers from Roald Amundsen are not contactable.
Passengers who disembarked in Tromsø told Norwegian media they were first informed of the outbreak when they read it online. The number of crew members onboard Roald Amundsen who have tested positive for Covid-19 is currently sitting at 36, while four passengers have also the virus.
All 158 crew members have since been tested, four of whom confirmed positive on Friday and the remaining 122 crew testing negative.
Roald Amundsen sailed from Tromsø, Norway, on 24 July with 177 passengers and 160 crew onboard. During the sailing, a number of crew members began to feel unwell, although they did not show signs of Covid-19. The affected crew were isolated, but, on Saturday, 1 August, others were tested and found to have a positive result.
The ship is currently docked in Tromsø, with no guests on board. Hurtigruten stressed that none of the 154 crew members still on board the ship – including the 32 new confirmed positive tests Saturday – has shown any signs of disease or symptoms of Covid-19.
In a further statement, Hurtigruten said: “We are now focusing all available efforts in taking care of our guests and colleagues.”
Vice President Global Communications Rune Thomas Ege said: “We work closely with the Norwegian national and local health authorities for follow-up, information, further testing, and infection tracking.
“The initial four crew members that were infected were isolated several days ago because of other disease symptoms, showing no symptoms of Covid-19. They were routinely tested before being admitted to hospital in Tromsø, Norway, Friday morning.
“Hurtigruten is in contact with all guests that were on board Roald Amundsen’s July 17 and 24 departures.
“209 guests from the first voyage and 178 guests from the July 24 departure will self-quarantine in line with Norwegian health authority regulations. Hurtigruten also assists guests with transport, accommodation, food and other needs.”
“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew is Hurtigruten’s number one priority. All crew members are closely monitored and screened daily.
“Non-Norwegian crew members are quarantined before boarding the ship, and non-European crew need to undergo two negative Covid-19 tests before even leaving their home country.”
