The crew member on board the giant containership CMA CGM Marco Polo has tested negative for the coronavirus, the French liner company informed citing results from Spanish sanitation authorities.
The affected seafarer was put in isolation on board the ship after starting to show symptoms linked to the pandemic. As informed by CMA CGM, no other crew member was showing symptoms.
Masters of ships have been advised to provide health declarations of their crew before entering a port as a precautionary measure aimed at preventing the spreading of the pandemic both on board the vessels and relevant ports.
“All necessary measures have been taken by CMA CGM to ensure the safety and health of its employees, both on land and sea. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, there has been no covid-19 case in the CMA CGM entire fleet,” the company said in a statement.
Since the reporting of the suspected infection, a total disinfection of the ship has been undertaken.
Given the results, the vessel was given clearance to resume normal operations.
The 2012-built ship remains moored at a Total Terminal International Algeciras S.A. (TTI Algeciras) in the Port of Algeciras, Spain, according to its latest AIS data.
The 16,026 TEU ship arrived in Spain from the British port of Southampton on March 26.
Next to Italy, Spain has been badly hit by the pandemic having reported over 102,000 infection cases and over 9,000 deaths.
—-World Maritime News
