SINGAPORE: The cruise liner turned away from ports in Malaysia and Thailand due to COVID-19 concerns docked in Singapore on Tuesday morning (Mar 10), with some passengers immediately taken to Changi Airport by bus.
The Costa Fortuna berthed at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre as part of a scheduled call, after the ship was barred from stopping in Penang and Phuket.
This was despite the cruise operator stating there were no suspected COVID-19 cases on board.
The ship, however, was carrying dozens of Italian passengers.
Italy was placed on lockdown on Tuesday after it reported 97 more deaths from COVID-19, taking its toll to 463 – the largest outside of China. There are 9,172 confirmed cases in the country.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday evening, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong explained why Singapore let the ship dock here.
“The passengers were already in Singapore,” Mr Wong said. “They had arrived in Singapore, and then they embarked on a cruise from Singapore with the intention to come back to Singapore.
“I don’t think it would be right for us to reject the ship if it were to come back to Singapore … so that’s why we agreed to accept them.
“We took extra precautions, as we have taken for all cruise ships as well.”
The minister added that there were Singaporeans aboard the Costa Fortuna, but did not specify how many were on the ship.
READ: Costa Fortuna cancels next 2 cruises out of Singapore due to ‘restrictive’ COVID-19 measures by other ports
Passengers started to leave the vessel at about 9am and more than 600 had left by 12pm, the Ministry of Health (MOH), Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in an update on Tuesday afternoon.
Passengers CNA spoke to said the mood on board was generally fine, but some said they were disappointed they could not alight in Penang or Phuket. Some passengers said they had their temperature taken before disembarking.
The passengers included those from Germany, Australia, Slovenia and Romania.
READ: Costa Fortuna cruise passengers to undergo health checks when disembarking in Singapore
READ: COVID-19: All of Italy to be placed under lockdown, says PM
Singapore authorities said on Monday that disembarking passengers would be checked by a doctor on board to ensure they were healthy.
Passengers entering Singapore would have their temperature taken, while those who had fever and/or symptoms of respiratory illness might be required to undergo a COVID-19 swab test. Passengers with no symptoms would be taken directly to the airport for onward flights, while those who have would be taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
On Tuesday afternoon, the three local agencies said those who had recent travel history to affected regions within the last 14 days have completed enhanced one-on-one screening by doctors licensed by MOH and have been certified fit to travel.
“These passengers had entered Singapore and boarded Costa Fortuna prior to the implementation of the travel ban and/or advisory on 4 March, 2359 hrs.
“These passengers will stay onboard the ship and will be facilitated directly to the airport for their onward flights.”
The Costa Fortuna docked in Singapore on Mar 10, 2020. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
The cruise centre was closed to the public on Tuesday morning, as staff and security officers screened passes and prevented reporters from taking photographs.
The first batch of passengers who left the centre at about 9am were quickly ushered to a waiting coach. The coach displayed a label showing the number of a Singapore Airlines flight departing for Bangkok at 6.35pm on Tuesday.
Subsequent batches of about 30 to 40 passengers each were also taken to waiting coaches, ushered by auxiliary officers keen on preventing them from speaking to the media.
Some of the coaches had labels showing the Crowne Plaza hotel in Changi Airport. Another coach had a label that indicated it was for members of the Dutch airline KLM.
Travellers from the Costa Fortuna disembark on Mar 10, 2020. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
“Nobody (on board) had fear,” a passenger from Germany said. “There’s no pain for us.”
A passenger from Romania said passengers were allowed to disembark in Langkawi, but not in Penang and Phuket.
“The cruise stopped in Phuket for four hours, then (moved off),” he said, making a hand gesture of a vehicle speeding off. “They told us that it’s closed.”
Another passenger from Australia said it was “upsetting” that her holiday was “cut short” as passengers were not allowed to disembark in Penang and Phuket.
“But it is what it is, (the virus) is worldwide,” she said, adding that it was still a “lovely” holiday.
At about 12.10pm, a bus with about 12 passengers arrived at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport. All of them are from Germany and are due to leave Singapore on Tuesday night.
Almost all foreign passengers will depart Singapore within the next two days, MOH, MPA and STB said in their joint response.
Costa Fortuna cruise ship passengers arriving at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
A couple said they got off the ship at about 9am and had been waiting at the cruise centre for an available coach to bring them to the hotel.
“That (took) very long and now we are waiting for our hotel rooms. We hope this will be fast so we can rest,” the man told CNA at the hotel lobby.
The couple boarded the Costa Fortuna cruise liner on Feb 25 in Singapore and said they enjoyed their two-week holiday as planned, despite not being allowed to get off the ship at Phuket and Penang.
“For me, I went to Thailand a few years ago so I know the country a little but my wife doesn’t so she is a little bit frustrated,” the passenger said. “But overall, it is okay. We still had fun.”
Another two passengers from Munich – a mother and her daughter – described Costa Fortuna as a “big” and “beautiful” ship.
Both had arrived in Singapore on Feb 21 and boarded the cruise ship on Feb 25. They said they visited Pattaya, Koh Samui and Langkawi before the ship was denied entry at Phuket and Penang.
They were in high spirits when they spoke to CNA despite the long wait at the cruise centre on Tuesday morning.
“We are feeling very good. We had a good holiday for two weeks,” said the daughter, who declined to reveal her name. “What happened at Phuket and Penang was a little sad and everyone was a little frustrated, but this is the situation now so we understand.”
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