After more than two-and-a-half years, Japan is ready to allow cruise ships to resume operations in Japan, starting with a Japanese ship sailing in late December to Mauritius.
The Japanese Transport Ministry made the announcement, Tuesday, saying that cruise ship operators and port authorities' associations have adopted anti-virus guidelines that will be part of the rules for the resumption. Specific arrangements will be made between local authorities and cruise ship operators.
Guidelines for the resumption include a three-shot vaccine requirement for all crew members and two shots for almost all passengers. There are also enhanced requirements for ventilation, disinfection of common areas and distancing.
The regulations are tighter than is now common as most cruise lines elsewhere have dropped nearly all requirements for vaccination or testing. That may change, however, in light of a situation last week in which a cruise ship arrived in Australia with 20% of its passengers testing positive, although few were symptomatic.
Before the pandemic, more than two million cruise passengers a year visited Japan. In March, 2020, Japan became one of the world focal points for the pandemic when it ordered nearly 4,000 passengers and crew aboard the Diamond Princess, docked in Yokohama, to remain onboard for two weeks after an outbreak on the ship. During the quarantine, Covid spread to many more passengers on the ship and the decision was widely criticized.
Image: Diamond Princess at Yokohama, 2020
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