Page 19: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2020)

symptomatic but infected individual may transmit the virus.

It is also unclear how long the virus can remain potent after landing on a surface such as a table or handrail.

Authorities are only starting to consider the problem of passing this contagious virus along. Consider the following scenario: A crew member or passenger acquires the virus and (it is supposed) is able to pass the condition to others for 14 days. After 13 days, that infected individual passes the virus to another crew member or passenger. The 14- day watch period begins anew. This theoretically could go on until everyone onboard has become infected and gone through the 14-day infectious stage.

The primary means of transmission from person-to-per- son seems to be through coughing and sneezing, but coming into contact with an infected person may be suf? cient. A

Japanese health care worker was recently diagnosed with the virus after conducting an inspection on a quarantined cruise ship.

Health of? cials fear that COVID-19 will become wide- spread – a community virus. Thus control measures such as quarantine, isolation, and surveillance are being imple- mented to buy time in hopes of ? nding a cure and better treatment medicines. Those measures have had limited suc- cess to date, as the number of reported cases keeps growing and it is clear that there are numerous unreported cases. The situation continues to change, so pay attention.

Summary

The real problem, though, would be the disruption in trade. Due to the (hopefully short-term) reduction in inter- national trade, many ships could be without cargoes (and possibly crews, support personnel, and bunkers). Ships could end up delayed in departure ports because the arrival ports are not accepting ships therefrom. Alternatively, the ship could be required to anchor out for an extended period awaiting clearance – recalling the ancient quaranta giorni or 40 day delay imposed by Venice. This has already occurred to cruise ships off Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Saint Lucia.

Other ports have announced that entry will not be allowed for ships carrying persons who have been in China in the previous 14 days. All of this is adding fresh meaning to the concept of “restraint of princes.”

The Author

Bryant

Dennis Bryant is with Bryant’s Mari- time Consulting, and a regular con- tributor to Maritime Reporter & Engi- neering News.

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