Cruise officials in Poole England UK, introduced new health and safety measures in order to help make land and sea operations "as Covid-secure as possible."
A fogging machine and temperature screening system are among the measures to be used when cruise ships start arriving at Port of Poole.
The current Covid-safe processes of the port with its ferry partners, which have already passed 4 audits with the Health and Safety Executive since August last year, are being extended to cruise companies and their passengers as the United Kingdom cruise season approaches.
Poole’s cruise ship terminal has recently been refurbished and is now solely dedicated to passengers and crew. It has been reconfigured in order to support social distancing measures, such as providing an enhanced layout and hand sanitizing stations via a one-way system. A temperature screening system, that would help identify cruisers with an increased temperature has also been installed. It calculates core body temperatures via a rapid test procedure that lasts less than 2 seconds. Cleaning practices have been improved via investment in new technology like fogging machines.
The port team will carry out further measures when cruise ships dock, such as working closely with lines to ensure the Covid-compliant transfer of travellers, including reducing the number of transfers to maintain social distancing.
Port of Poole is working alongside the UK Chamber of Shipping, the British Ports Association, Cruise Britain, and other partners to ensure its wellbeing and safety protocols are in line with Government guidelines.
A number of ships will dock at the port in summer 2021, with the full schedule to be announced shortly.