The 958-foot long, US flag container ship, Maersk Idaho is anchored off the coast of Virginia after several crew members tested positive for COVID-19. Maersk is working on a plan to evacuate the ship, bring the crew to a quarantine facility, clean the ship and then bring a new crew on board, said Patrick McCaffery, Maersk Line’s general counsel, as reported by the Virginia Pilot. 

The ship had transited the Atlantic from Bremerhaven Germany to Newark, NJ. One crew member had become ill with symptoms of pneumonia after the ship arrived in the Port of Newark. He was taken to a hospital where he tested positive for COVID-19. By the time Maersk was notified of the positive case, the Idaho was en route to Norfolk where, according to the Port of Virginia’s vessel schedule, it was scheduled to load and unload cargo at Virginia International Gateway this weekend. 

In subsequent testing on Sunday, nine more crew tested positive for the virus. All had been asymptomatic.

McCaffery said the situation is being handled step by step and the ship won’t go back into operation before it’s cleaned and crew members are treated.

The Idaho is part of Maersk Line, Limited’s fleet of American-flagged ships, and routinely sails across the Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe. The company has a contract to move cargo for the U.S. government, but cargo on the ship is not exclusively for the military. McCaffery would not comment on what cargo is aboard the Idaho.

The company is part of Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping line.