MSC cruise passengers screened as they disembark at Durban Port

ALL 2408 passengers at the MSC Cruise Orchestra have successfully disembarked at the Durban Port.

According to authorities, none of the passengers tested positive for coronavirus or have shown any symptoms.

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The passengers were screened in batches of 100, their bags disinfected and transferred to their respective locations in buses.

The MSC cruise left the Durban port on Monday and returned on Friday morning despite a government statement banning all passenger cruise ships in light of the pandemic.

Sobantu Tilayi, Acting CEO of South African Maritime Safety Authority addresses the media.

Sobantu Tilayi, Acting CEO of South African Maritime Safety Authority said none of the passengers had disembarked during the cruise.

“There was no interference with the ship in all its sailing until it got back here,” he said.

“We had been receiving 8-hourly reports on the status of the health (of passengers) from the doctors on board. We had taken enough precautions to protect the country in terms of this one ship.”

A majority of the passengers are South African and the rest from neighboring countries.

There are two other ships expected at the Durban Port; Astor (later on Friday) and Arcadia (expected on Sunday).

The security level at the port has been raised to level 3, meaning all operations are being handled by the police and government.

MSC defended their decision to set sail on Monday in a statement saying they received all clearances before leaving the Durban port on Monday shortly before the government published regulations banning all passenger cruise ships.

In terms of possible punishment for MSC, Tilayi said they would be taking the lead from the ministry of Transport. “The minister (Fikile Mbalula) is on record on the matter and we agree with every sentiment the minister expressed. You (had) a bunch of South Africans that were stuck on a ship and we needed to deal with this situation and this was the best course possible,” he said.

Tilayi said discussions are currently being held with MSC and all government stakeholders to figure out what went wrong.

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Zeld Marais, from Boksburg, was one of the passengers on board the cruise ship. She said she had enjoyed the experience but felt MSC should have cancelled the trip and given passengers a full refund.