Singapore is looking to pilot the return of cruising as the economy starts to gradually re-open. To rebuild passenger and crew confidence amidst the COVID-19 crisis, DNV GL, together with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) are jointly developing the CruiseSafe certification, a compliance audit and certification programme for cruises sailing from the port of Singapore.
“Singapore plays an important role within the cruise industry in the South East Asian region. We are pleased to be working with STB to develop and implement a robust certification programme for regional cruises to resume operations,” says Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager for South East Asia, Pacific & India at DNV GL Maritime. “By building on our CIP-M standard we can help to enhance the cruise industry’s already stringent HSE standards and support their efforts at rebuilding the trust and confidence of guests, crew and the local community.”
The CruiseSafe certification will provide assurance of high standards of health and sanitation, ensuring that stringent and enhanced hygiene and safety protocols are in place at all touch points during a vessel’s journey. The framework is built upon DNV GL's Certification in Infection - Maritime (CIP-M) programme and incorporates global health and safety standards as well as national safe management measures and certification guidelines. The CIP-M programme provides a framework to help maritime companies improve their management of infection risk, demonstrating that procedures and systems are in place for the proper prevention, control and mitigation of infection.
As part of the CruiseSafe certification process, DNV GL will review STB's cruise safe management measures, jointly develop an audit and non-compliance framework, as well as conduct management system review and on-board audits for participating cruise ships to ensure compliance with the safety requirements and measures. It will be mandatory for all cruise lines to obtain the CruiseSafe certification before they are allowed to resume operations from Singapore. Genting Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International, two major cruise lines home-ported in Singapore will pilot round-trips with no ports of call sailings from November 2020.