Dormant cruise ship Riviera scheduled to arrive on June 14

The 785-foot dormant cruise ship Riviera is scheduled to dock at the Eastport breakwater the evening of Sunday, June 14, or Monday morning for long-term berthing, perhaps through the summer. There will be no passengers on the vessel, and the crew members will remain aboard for the duration of the stay in Eastport to ensure there is no risk posed to public health and safety from the coronavirus.
"No one will be coming off the vessel," states Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority. Although a crew member might take trash onto the gangway for unloading, "nobody is coming into the community," he says.
As of June 5 he was not sure exactly how many crew will be on the vessel when it arrives, but he believes it will be between 50 and 100. Minimal staffing is 35, but now that the scenario is a "hot lay-up," meaning the ship has enough crew to man the vessel when it comes time to leave, a greater number are being kept aboard. Under new guidelines issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cruise ship lines are being provided better access to help get crew members to their home countries, and the Riviera has been letting some crew members off in Miami, before its departure this past week for Eastport. Cruise lines are trying to get vessels out of Florida during the hurricane season, and there's limited docking space in the country for all of the vessels, which are not now on any cruises at sea during the coronavirus pandemic.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the owner of the Riviera, has committed to having the ship in Eastport through June, with the potential for July, and then the port authority will evaluate any continuing stay on a month-to-month basis. "I anticipate it will stay through July," says Gardner, noting that he would not expect the vessel to come all the way to Eastport for only two weeks.
Jersey barricades will be set up by the small building on the breakwater to prevent access to the main deck of the pier, just as when a U.S. Navy ship is at the breakwater. Only those who are providing services, such as dumpsters, will be allowed past the barricades. Fishermen will still be able to access both the crane on the north side of the breakwater and the one on the fish pier. Access to the crane on the south side of the breakwater will not be allowed.

Concerns discussed
Having the cruise ship dock in Eastport has been the focus of intense discussion in the community over the past few weeks, with the city council and port authority hearing, during several meetings, from residents concerned about the possible spread of the coronavirus into the community. Because of local concerns about public health and safety, Governor Janet Mills' administration requested a letter of support from the city council, and, following the meetings, the council voted 4-1 on May 20 to write the letter.
While the Riviera is listed by the federal CDC as having one COVID-19 case traced to the ship back in early March, the ship's chief medical officer, Dr. Carlos Gonzales, has stated that there were never any confirmed cases on board. The one passenger in March was medevaced off the ship for other health reasons and then tested positive for the virus later on. Dr. Gonzales has reported that the ship is "perfectly clean," with the crew having been quarantined on the ship for over a month, as of mid-May. The crew members have their temperature and oxygen levels tested twice a day to check for any symptoms of the virus.
During a press conference on June 1, Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control, was asked about the cruise ship's plans and stated that the two concerns are: whether the ship has a way to transport any ill crew members to a nearby hospital and has an established relationship with the hospital; and whether a mandatory 14-day quarantine will be required. He noted that a 14-day quarantine is at least as good if not better than diagnostic testing for determining if someone has COVID-19. "When someone has gone those 14 days without showing even the slightest bit of symptoms, the likelihood that they've got COVID-19 is vanishingly small," he stated. The port authority has now received a communication from Matthew Burns of the Maine Department of Transportation stating, "All of Maine CDC's questions have been answered. It has no major concerns about the plan, so long as the 14-day quarantine is strictly enforced upon arrival of the Riviera in Eastport."
Gardner notes that Norwegian Cruise Line, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have all confirmed that no one will be allowed off the vessel. The Coast Guard, CBP and federal CDC all have no issues with the vessel docking in Eastport. "The holdup has been the state sign-off," he says.