The Port of Gothenburg Authority announced that from now on, on its own initiative, will request a Maritime Declaration of Health from all vessels calling at the port, beginning from Monday, February 3, 2020, until further notice.
Accordingly, following the majority of shipping stakeholders, the Port of Gothenburg is taking preventing and safety measures, following the coronavirus outbreak.
The port states that:
- If an approaching vessel states that it has an ill person on board who has been in a WHO-classified risk area, the port’s quarantine plan will be activated and infection control doctors will be contacted. These doctors then make a medical assessment.
- According to infection control doctors in contact with the Gothenburg Port Authority, pilots and other port staff can board without risk to their own health if they do not meet the sick person. The Maritime Declaration of Health covers, among other things, if someone in the crew has been in an identified risk area for the past two weeks and if someone is sick on board the ship.
This is not something we have been instructed to do, but it is an initiative we take ourselves as a Port Authority. To request a Maritime Declaration of Health is not a complicated or new procedure, but a routine that the vessels and Gothenburg Port Authority are used to
… commented Åsa Kärnebro, Harbour Master at the Port of Gothenburg.
Concluding, the Gothenburg Port Authotity is in continuous contact with infection control doctors in the Västra Götaland region and informs that the Declaration of Health for all calling vessels is valid until further notice.
