Cruise ships return to the port of Riga
On Sunday morning, August 8, the ship MV Artania of the German travel agency and cruise ship operator Phoenix Reisen will arrive at the Port of Riga. This will be the first cruise ship to enter Riga after a half-year hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The length of the cruise liner MV Artania is 231 meters, width - 32 meters. The maximum capacity is 1260 passengers and 537 crew members. The eight decks of the ship are equipped with 600 cabins, a swimming pool and a cinema.
There will be approximately 560 passengers on board MV Artania; the vessel will arrive in Riga from the port of Tallinn. During the cruise, the ship will visit various cities of the Baltic Sea - Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Gdansk and others.
According to the head of the public relations department of the Freeport of Riga Liene Ozola, all passengers of the vessel are vaccinated against Covid-19.
The ship, which began its cruise on July 30 in Bremenhaven, carries passengers from eight countries - most of all from Germany, but also from Austria, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Ozola said that taking care of the Freeport of Riga Authority, in cooperation with the State Border Guard, the Emergency Medical Service and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, they developed a plan to reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19, which in the future will have to be observed by all ships entering the port of the Latvian capital. This plan, drawn up taking into account the recommendation of international organizations involved in the field of navigation and cruises, will gradually resume the acceptance of cruise ships in the Port of Riga.
The cruise specialist of the Riga Passenger Port Ilze Nelis said that modern ventilation systems are now installed on cruise ships, rooms and surfaces are constantly decontaminated, and even laboratories are equipped for testing for Covid-19.
"Before boarding a ship, both the attendants and passengers must present the appropriate Covid-19 certificate. Passengers and service personnel who have not yet fully vaccinated or have had Covid-19 should be tested regularly - at least once a week -. Cruise ships are ready. to situations when someone is diagnosed with Covid-19 or another infection: there are enough cabins on ships for self-isolation or quarantine needs, "Ilze Nelis emphasized.
Many more cruise ships are scheduled to visit the Port of Riga this season - if the epidemiological situation in Europe allows it.