Cruise ship makes urgent port call |30 March 2020

A cruise ship, ‘Costa Deliziosa’, was given special permission to anchor off Ste Anne yesterday so that a seriously ill crew member could be attended to.

According to a communiqué from the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA), the authority received a request for an emergency port call from the cruise vessel ‘Costa Deliziosa’ on Saturday March 28, 2020 at 7pm local time.

“The communication came through a local agent representing the vessel following a request for urgent Medivac of one crew member on board ‘Costa Deliziosa’ who has been diagnosed with acute appendicitis needing urgent surgical intervention,” the SPA communiqué said.

The communiqué added:

“All the relevant authorities were put on alert and the Public Health Authority (PHA) ascertained the request upon receipt of the ‘Patient Medical Report’ as well as the ‘Maritime Declaration of Health’ Document from the vessel.

“Based on the Medical Report, the PHA was satisfied that the request was genuine and permission was granted for cruise vessel ‘Costa Deliziosa’ to proceed on anchorage in Port Victoria, near St Anne Island upon its arrival at 7am on Sunday March 29, 2020.

“PHA sent a doctor on board to assist with the evacuation of the patient with the help of the Seychelles Coast Guard.

“No authorisation were given for any other passengers or crew members to come onshore and the vessel was instructed that any logistical request would have to be catered for on anchorage.”

‘Costa Deliziosa’ has 1823 passengers and 899 crew members on board totalling 2,722. It left its last port of call, Saint Denis, Reunion Island more than 15 days ago and to date has not reported any other medical cases on board.

The vessel left Port Victoria at 7.45am yesterday onward to its original destination which is Muscat, Oman.

The SPA notes that this case is an exception due to the nature of the emergency. The current restrictions imposed on cruise and leisure vessels are still in force and must be respected at all times.

Communique from the Seychelles Ports Authority