Efforts to keep the COVID-19 coronavirus from spreading to Hawaii have mainly focused on air travel, but the sea is also a potential transmission avenue being regulated.
The U.S. Coast Guard earlier this month barred passenger ships from entering Hawaii and other U.S. ports if they are carrying any passengers who have been to China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) within 14 days.
Cargo ships and other commercial vessels face a different restriction, and would be denied entry to U.S. ports only if they have a sick crew member and have been to China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) within 14 days or taken on any crew members who have been to the same place within 14 days.
However, crew members on these commercial ships must remain on board regardless of whether anyone on the ship is sick.
“These temporary measures are in place to safeguard the American public,” the Coast Guard said in a Feb. 2 marine safety information bulletin.
As of Friday no passenger or commercial vessels had been denied entry to a port in Hawaii under these regulations, according to Coast Guard spokeswoman Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir in Honolulu.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara added that no vessels scheduled to arrive in Hawaii have canceled a visit since the outbreak of COVID-19, which has been concentrated in China but spread to other countries, including Japan and South Korea.
This suggests that cruise ships and cargo ships so far have continued to operate normally in Hawaii, helping sustain tourism and the delivery of essential consumer goods.
Hawaii government officials estimate that 80% of all goods consumed in the state are imported, and 98% of that comes by ship.
Fears of COVID-19 spreading to Hawaii and causing people to avoid personal contact with others have led to recent runs on merchandise in stores, including toilet paper, food and even bottled water.
Keoni Wagner, spokesman for Hawaii’s largest ocean cargo transportation firm, Matson Inc., said there hasn’t been any big drop to cargo volume on Matson ships to Hawaii.
Matson ships arrive in Honolulu from West Coast ports three times a week.
The other major ocean cargo carrier in the state, Pasha Hawaii, said its service between California and Hawaii is continuing normally, according to spokeswoman Emily Sinclair.
In addition to Matson and Pasha, some foreign cargo carriers occasionally deliver goods to Hawaii.
Matson, which is based in Honolulu, has a separate line of service carrying cargo directly between China and the West Coast. The company anticipates that disruption in this trade lane will carve $15 million from its operating income this year. Wagner, however, said relatively little merchandise Matson brings from China continues to Hawaii.
As for cruise ships, 14 are scheduled to arrive in Honolulu in March, followed by 20 in April. No cruise ships visit Hawaii directly from China, according to Sakahara. Several come from the West Coast and the South Pacific. At least one ship recently added Hawaii as a stop after diverting from its itinerary in Asia. For instance, the Celebrity Millennium was scheduled for a port call in Singapore today but skipped that stop and is scheduled to pull into Honolulu Harbor on Sunday morning.
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