Several hundreds sick on Fred Olsen cruise ship

The cruise ship Balmoral Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship docked at Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. health officials and the company said on Friday. The norovirus outbreak took place aboard the Britain-based line's Balmoral during a transatlantic cruise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

More than every fourth passenger became ill on a Fred Olsen cruise ship, probably due to the Norovirus,  that Sunday arrived in Portland in the US state of Maine after crossing the Atlantic.

252 of the 919 passengers aboard the cruise ship ‘Balmoral’ became ill during the crossing from Southampton in Britain, where they boarded on 16 April, writes the Brititish newspaper The Guardian.

The cruise ship docked on Sunday in Portland, Maine. Health professionals believe the 252 passengers and eight of the 502 crew members on board have been affected by the Norovirus. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
During a port call in Baltimore in Maryland last week  the outbreak was already well under way, and healthcare professionals boarded the ship to inspect. More thorough cleaning and disinfection procedures were introduced in the hope of stopping the outbreak.
‘Balmoral’  left the docks in Portland on Sunday afternoon and headed towards Saint John in New Brunswick in Canada.
Fred Olsen Cruises has not commented on the matter.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a traditional Norwegian family owned shipping company.

Update:

We have been contacted by email about the Fred Olsen Cruice Lines with an comment to the case:

Dear Sir / Madam,

Further to the story that you have published on your website regarding our cruise ship Balmoral, I would like to request that you update it with the below statement – it is not correct that we have not been commenting, and you will see in the international media that we have been responding to media enquiries on a regular basis.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines can confirm that a gastro-enteritis type illness has affected a number of guests on board Balmoral‘s 34-night L1608 ‘Old England to New England’ cruise, which departed from Southampton, UK on 16th April 2016. There are currently 15 guests who have been required to remain in their cabins, out of a total of 1,434 guests and crew on board. The majority of guests on board are British.

Balmoral has undergone inspections by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‎(CDC) and US Coastguard and received a US Public Health score of 91%. Balmoral has now left the US and is due to arrive in Saint John, New Brunswick later today [9th May 2016]. At no point has Balmoral been quarantined in any port on this cruise, and is continuing as planned.

Fred. Olsen has been undertaking extensive sanitisation measures and cleaning of the ship, following the company’s strict illness containment and prevention plan. It is believed that the highly-contagious gastric illness was brought onto the ship, and is spread by person-to-person – or surface-to-surface – contact. Clusters are more commonly seen in areas where people are in close confines, such as hotels, schools and hospitals, as well as cruise ships. Most people do not report incidences, but on a cruise ship, cases are particularly highlighted. Commonly, the illness abates within one or two days. Those guests who are affected are asked to remain in their cabins during this time – with complimentary room service and in-room entertainment.

Fred. Olsen is co-operating fully with all the necessary maritime agencies and authorities and will continue to make e‎very effort possible to ensure the safety and well-being of all its guests and crew on board, which is of paramount ‎importance.

Fred. Olsen’s cruise ships meet, at all times, the highest safety, hygiene and health standards, and comply fully with the strict requirements and inspections of their Flag State, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and other relevant authorities.

Best regards,

Rachael

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today