Since having to temporarily halt operations due to the global pandemic, MSC Cruises has been working intensively to develop a new health and safety protocol that will support the restart of operations when the time is right.
MSC Cruises has created a cross-functional team comprised of internal experts from the areas of medical services, public health and sanitation, hospitality services, climate control and other onboard engineering, information technology, and logistics. In addition, they have also engaged the medical consulting firm Aspen Medical to help further develop the company's protocols and procedures.
Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises, commented: “I am pleased to announce today that the work of our cross-functional group has been supported by the formation and commitment of the Blue Ribbon COVID expert group for protocol consultation and planning, as well as to provide additional expert advice to enhance our knowledge and own resources.
The objective of the Blue Ribbon COVID expert group, comprised of experts in medicine, public health, and/or related disciplines, is to create a highly qualified and internationally respected group to inform and review our COVID-19-related initiatives. This will ensure that all actions taken are appropriate, effective, and informed by best health practices. Therefore, this expert group will be competent to review policy initiatives, technical innovations, and operational measures related to COVID-19. Following the resumption of operations, it will continue to work to ensure that we benefit from its expertise, even as the situation continues to evolve and more data becomes available.
MSC Cruises' Blue Ribbon COVID expert group comprises the company's top executives along with: Professor Christakis Hadjichristodoulou, Professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the Faculty of Medicine and Vice President of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Thessaly, Greece; Professor Stephan J. Harbarth, Hospital Epidemiologist, Infectious Disease Specialist and Head of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and Faculty of Medicine; and Dr. Ian Norton, an emergency medicine specialist with postgraduate degrees in Surgery, International Health and Tropical Medicine, currently Managing Director of Respond Global, formerly head of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Emergency Medical Team Initiative program from 2014 to January 2020.
Bud Darr, Vice President of Maritime Policy and Government Affairs, commented: “Since the beginning of developing our new health and safety protocol, we have been in continuous consultation with regional, national, and local public health authorities, including but not limited to those in Europe, the US, Brazil, and China, both directly and through CLIA. To this end, some of the Company’s most detailed engagements and contributions have been with the public health authorities in the EU, specifically regarding cruise ships. This has recently resulted in the issuance of the interim EU Healthy Gateways guidance, among other things, which is currently being reviewed by national health authorities across the continent.”
“Currently, we are focusing on the next phase of working with the authorities – including those responsible for health, transport, and the maritime sector – in countries bordering the Mediterranean, as they review European and international guidelines and incorporate them into their local requirements. This is the region where, thanks to the improved health situation on land and the possibility of travel for its citizens, we hope to resume operations following the successful reopening to travel and leisure activities in the region.”.
MSC Cruises' new operations protocol – which meets and exceeds the guidelines of regional and international regulatory bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO), EU Health Gateways and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), as well as the regulations set by many of the governments in which MSC Cruises operates.
Bud Darr concluded: “To this end, we also have a specialist marine classification society that will provide third-party verification that our protocols and procedures comply with European guidelines.”
With this new health and safety protocol, MSC Cruises has worked to cover all aspects of a passenger's journey: from the moment of booking to embarkation, life on board and until the return home, preserving the uniqueness of the passenger experience.
In fact, MSC Cruises has created an in-house task force and is continuously reviewing the protocols and measures already in place since the beginning of the crisis. From the start of the crisis – at the end of January – MSC Cruises began implementing increasingly stringent measures, which have been continuously refined to protect both passengers and crew, while working to ensure their safe return home. This proactive health and safety approach to protecting passengers and crew is at the heart of everything MSC Cruises does; and having the support of leading industry experts to develop this new protocol is a natural extension of this proactive approach.
