In a move to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced on Wednesday that all cruise ships were prohibited from either entering or disembarking from South African ports following regulation changes, but added that cargo ships would remain unaffected.
Addressing the media at the Port of Cape Town, Mbalula said that although cruise ship operations had been brought to a halt, cargo vessels woud not be affected by the new regulations.
“All of our eight sea port operations and cargo handling work will continue,” he said.
“The current regulations and measures do not prohibit trade. Cargo ships will still be allowed to call at our ports to off-load and to load cargo. This is to minimise the adverse effects of the virus on our economy and our global trade position.”
Mbalula did, however, note that these regulations would forbid crew changes on all types of vessels, irrespective of whether they were cargo or cruise liners.
“We are aware that in the normal course of ship operations the local ship workers do come into contact with ship crews and this is one point of possible contamination that we have requested port authorities to manage,” he concluded. – Bjorn Vorster
