Amidst the COVID pandemic, researchers have begun looking into how the spread of the virus had become so prolific as quickly as it did. The truth was it was a variety of factors, the prolific amount of travel is one of the largest factors. Travel and trade have become extremely easy and affordable which in turn has allowed viruses, like COVID-19, to spread globally more rapidly than in decades prior. Travel, whether for business or pleasure, allowed the disease to spread from country to country at a much higher rate than in the previous pandemics.
While it was clear that prolific travel would allow the coronavirus to spread widely, many within the travel industry opted not to listen to warnings that could have ultimately decreased the impact the disease had. Even with substantial evidence suggesting otherwise, some industries, including the Cruise industry, continued to ignore the safety suggestions for their passengers and the ports they would visit and put financial agendas ahead of the communities which they serve.
Cruise Ships average 3,000 passengers and some can house up to 6,000 if they reach maximum capacity according to Cruisemapper.com. Using conservative numbers that means that each voyage had about 3,000 people on board the vessel traveling from one port to another. This number is increased exponentially when you factor in the numbers of ships that comprise each company’s fleet globally. That means for the month of March each ship was ferrying thousands of people in close proximity to each other which is a prime environment to aid the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, at each port the passengers debarked the vessels, the population of the port city was exposed to whatever germs and bacteria were spread onboard the ship.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has so far determined that 17 of the vessels, which were on international voyages and had entered at least one U.S. port, carried people who tested positive for Covid-19 within two weeks of disembarking.”
Utilizing those statistics alone, and assuming that those 17 vessels only took one voyage within that time frame, that means upwards of 51,000 passengers alone were possibly exposed. Being that the numbers used were conservative, and they do not factor in the inhabitants of the port towns, it is very likely that the true number of people exposed would be considerably higher.
Cruise Ships average 3,000 passengers and some can house up to 6,000 if they reach maximum capacity
Experiences onboard ships that were infected – What about those onboard the vessels?
During some of the voyages, ports started to deny debarkations and passengers would be trapped aboard the vessel with no way to escape. The Wall Street Journal goes on to say, “the Braemar, a ship owned by British-based Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines, was denied port access by the Dominican Republic for what the company called “an overreaction” to a small number of passengers with influenza-like symptoms… Nine days later, the company said two passengers had been diagnosed with Covid-19 after returning home.”
With ports denying passengers the ability to debark the ships it left passengers trapped onboard for the main part of their stay. Yet, the companies who owned the ships continued to allow new passengers to board and start their journey knowing there was a possibility people could get sick or trapped on the ship.
Onboard many of the ships there was an alarming lack of communication. “Shortly before returning to Sydney on March 19, ship officers told New South Wales health authorities that 104 passengers and crew had acute respiratory infections, including 36 who visited the ship’s clinic with influenza-like illnesses. Ship officers, though, didn’t notify other passengers aboard.” (The Wall Street Journal)
A lack of communication left those trapped onboard the ships frightened and unsure. Some ships were quarantined in ports prior to releasing the passengers and allowing them to debark. Once trapped on the vessels it was easy for COVID to spread among the tight spaces and even easier for concerns to grow.
