Resumption of tourism for passenger ships

02 Nov 2021 / South Africa

The South African national port authority SAMSA has advised that passenger ships may plan and recommence tourism activities along the South African coast.

Coastal voyages are defined as voyages between any of the commercial ports of South Africa, provided that the first and last port of call is either Cape Town, Port Elizabeth or Durban.

All port facilities or terminals must enforce Maritime Security Level 2 when facilitating passenger ships and enforce Maritime Security Level 1 when handling cargo operations.

All types of vessels must be permitted to proceed to berth once cleared by Department of Transport. The National Department of Health is required to ensure NHLS is available at all functional/open Ports of Entry during operations to conduct antigen testing ashore.

International embarkation and disembarkation for passenger ships are restricted to Cape Town, Durban or Port Elizabeth. The first and last ports of call for passenger ships embarking on an international voyage must be at any of the three main ports. Coastal voyages are restricted to the following secondary ports: Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Port of Ngqura, Mossel Bay, Saldanha Bay and East London.

Any embarkation and disembarkation activities for passengers must comply with curfew restrictions (curfew period for Level 1: 2359-0400 local time daily). Any shore excursions must end at 2300 hours each day while in port, to allow for travel time to the vessel. Planning should be such that the last passengers are onboard the vessel no later than 2359 hours.

Passengers arriving at a port to join a vessel must provide a valid certificate of negative COVID-19 test recognised by the WHO, and must be obtain not more than 72 hours before arriving in South Africa. Failure to do so would mean that the passenger must undergo an antigen test on arrival, at their own cost, unless the cruise ship operator agrees to cover the costs.

Passengers who test positive must isolate themselves for 10 days. The ship agent and cruise ship company shall make all necessary transport arrangements for any passenger to and from any approved isolation or quarantine facility ashore.

For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in South Africa, contact GAC South Africa at [email protected]

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