More than 20 cruise ships are departing Manila Bay to escape the wrath of Category 3 Typhoon Vongfong making landfall in the Philippines. Many of the cruise ships had been in the process of repatriating Filipino crew members, a process interrupted by the arrival of the typhoon.

With the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “no sail orders” resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, cruise operators faced challenges in getting their crews home, as they were effectively banned from commercial transportation. Several cruise lines, including the two largest, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, decided, in addition to arranging charter flights, to use their company’s ships to repatriate some of their crews. 

In early May, 18 Carnival Cruise Line ships rendezvoused in The Bahamas to transfer crew members of various nationalities. Nine of the ships then set off on long voyages to repatriate more than 10,000 crew members who have been stuck on board after the cruise line suspended operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other cruise lines followed their example.

As by some estimates, Filipinos make up almost a third of cruise ship workers, many ships headed for the Philippines. Once the ships arrived, however, the Philippine Coast Guard began to test each of the crew members for the virus. Those who tested negative would be subject to a 14-day quarantine ashore and then would be assisted with travel home. Individuals testing positive would be moved a medical facility onshore for appropriate treatment. 

All was going relatively smoothly until the arrival of Typhoon Vongfong. The typhoon has maximum sustained winds of 125 kph and gusts of up to 165 kph. Now, the approximately 20 ships are heading out to sea to avoid the worst of the typhoon and, if all goes well, will return to continue crew repatriation once the storm is past.

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.