Thursday, April 16, 2020 - 10:46 by ce-press
SDK Cruise were already in contact with Carnival Maritime to find suitable ports that could be the temporary home for one or two of its vessels while operations are on pause, when Cruise Europe reached out for lay-up ports.
Having contacted various ports, Port of Skagen and ADP A/S (Ports of Fredericia and Nyborg) came forward to assist. “With good dialogue with both, we ended up with confirmation for two vessels, one for each port,” explains Henning Schou, director SDK Cruise.
“With the help from the two ports the work began on getting the right approvals, and with Denmark under shutdown this was not an easy task at hand.” After many communications, AIDAmar docked in Fredericia on April 2, and three days later AIDAdiva arrived in Skagen.
Both ports have supplied free WiFi to the vessels so the crew have a wider access to communicate with their families. And SDK has assisted with coordinating supplies, waste disposal services etc.
“Our most important task right now is securing approval for the repatriation of the crew, so they can go home to their families. However this is proving to be quite a challenge, mainly to get approvals for the disembarkation from the Danish National Authorities, but also the limited amount of flight paired with travel restrictions,” says Schou.
Following a transatlantic crossing from the Caribbean, AIDAdiva was laid up at the cruise berth in Skagen initially for April but this has now been extended until early June. All national Corona regulations are being adhered to.
