In the latest in our series of industry executives’ takes on news in cruise, CruiseBusiness.com contributor Fran Golden had a chance to catch up with Bill Burke this week and learn the latest on crew repatriation.
Written by Fran Golden.
With cruise travel at a standstill around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, major cruise companies have been sending their ships to help repatriate crew to their home countries. At the same time, with commercial air currently unavailable to some places, the lines have chartered hundreds of flights to get crew to their homes around the world.
So why are an estimated 100,000 crew members who are healthy and free of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, still out at sea? It’s a complicated question that has the cruise lines throughout the industry encountering substantial obstacles along the way.
“There are so many challenges,” says Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation, whose nine brands include Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises. “We are working hard to repatriate our crew members to more than 130 countries, in a unique set of circumstances.”
In their crew repatriation efforts, cruise companies are dealing with requirements that vary country by country, in an environment that is constantly changing. Quarantine, testing and entry requirements are being written, updated, sometimes even reversed, and in some cases don’t align with country capacities to deliver on the requirements.
In the Philippines, issues with test results and certification have delayed for several weeks repatriation of some 24,000 Filipino workers, including thousands who work in the cruise industry, prompting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to step in last week to expedite the process.
Some crew live in countries where borders have been closed to ships or air or both, further complicating matters. When they do set foot on land, crew may be subject to further quarantine and may find that they are not allowed to use public transportation or enter airport terminals to get to their own cities.
Carnival Corporation has moved 42,000 crew members back home. As of May 29, another 38,000 crew from Carnival Corporation’s nine brands are still waiting to return to their home countries. The company has 49 ships (out of its fleet of 105) currently at sea carrying crew home, with stops at different countries along the way.
So far, the company’s ships have traveled more than 400,000 nautical miles for crew repatriation with approximately 100,000 more to go, Burke tells Cruisebusiness.com.
Carnival Corporation’s repatriation efforts, which began after the cruise industry voluntarily paused operations on March 13, have cost more than $100 million, according to Burke, who adds the company is committed to covering the costs and having dedicated teams working to manage the logistics.
He’s aware that being stuck shipboard in the midst of a crisis is beyond frustrating for those onboard the ships. “We are concerned about the physical health of our crews, certainly, but we’re also concerned about the mental health,” Burke says. “We place great value on the health, safety and well-being of our colleagues at sea, and we are doing everything we can to take care of them during this very unusual situation.”
On that note, the company has taken steps to make things easier for the remaining crews onboard the ships. Most are staying alone in guest cabins, many with a window or balcony. They have access to fresh air, movies and the Internet, which makes it possible for crew members to stay in touch with their family and friends. They also have access to counseling. Still, Burke says, “I think some people outside the cruise industry feel like being on a ship, and in some cases confined to your cabin, is no different than sheltering in place in your home. It is quite different. It’s not like Miami Beach where you can go out for a walk or a bike ride on the boardwalk.”
With his team at Carnival Corporation’s Fleet Operations Center in Miami, and teams at each of the company’s nine brands, Burke says more than 200 land-based personnel have been working to get crew home. “We’ve said your job is to go work on this,” Burke explains. “We have had people focused on this now for four months.”
Among industrywide developments in the past couple of weeks, Jamaica, Haiti and the Turks & Caicos have allowed ship crew to return home. India and Indonesia have opened to returning crew. The stranded Filipino crew are expected to return home this week, if all goes as planned.
Carnival Corporation has some 20 ships in Manila Bay, filled with thousands of crew members awaiting repatriation. After disembarking Filipino crew in Manila, some of the ships will continue on to Indonesia and India, to do the same. Similarly, hundreds of planes chartered by the company are doing legs, operating like buses stopping in several countries to disembark crew along the way.
Burke says he expects to get all crew returned home by the end of June. In addition to those being repatriated, some 12,000 crew will remain on the company’s ships, a safe manning team of about 120 per ship, to make sure each vessel “runs safely, smoothly and in compliance with national and international regulations.”
Emails, letters and messages coming from around the world indicate success stories.
“There are also those who have expressed frustration and we share their frustration, but we have tried to explain that we are not in full control of the circumstances and that we’re doing everything we can while complying with the rules of all of the home nations,” Burke says. “But there are also many crew members who have written to express their appreciation of the tremendous efforts our teams have made to get them home and the way they were well looked after. That means a great deal to all of us involved in this effort, and we won’t rest until all of our crew members are back home.”
