As we have seen an increase in the number of cases of ships arriving in Brazil with crew members showing symptoms of COVID-19 and in order to provide our clients with a refresh and updated information, we kindly recall the main sanitary measures in force for crew change in cases of contamination on board.
The ANVISA is the National Health Surveillance Agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) and is linked with the Ministry of Health in Brazil.
Among the regulatory agencies and other federal public agencies, it is exclusively up to Anvisa to prepare and disseminate sanitary measures and recommendations for the prevention and control of events of interest to public health, as well as to define and execute actions regarding health surveillance involving people, cargo and means of transport that circulate in port, airports, borders and customs, in accordance with the International Health Regulations, the Collegiate Board Resolutions and the guidelines of the Ministry of Health.
According to Technical Note 5/2021/SEI/GQRIS/GGPAF/DIRE5/ANVISA, related to Updates of the sanitary measures to be adopted in ports and vessels to respond to the Public Health Emergency of National Importance and International by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), we highlighted some items as follows:
Access on board
Third-party access on board must be restricted to performing strictly necessary activities. In this case, companies must demand compliance with safety requirements for access to the vessel, being mandatory the use of a mask, preferably surgical, adopt frequent hand hygiene (water and soap or alcohol gel) before coming into contact with the crew and surfaces of the vessels;
It must be ensured that workers from companies that provide services to vessels are asymptomatic and have not had contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days;
Physical contact between the vessel’s crew and passengers and port workers (drilling agents, stevedores and foremen etc.) must be avoided during the entire period of operation of the vessel in the port;
Vessel’s owners, shipowners and charterers must keep the Contingency Plan with COVID-19 updated, which must include procedures for embarkation and disembarkation, access control, communication to the local Anvisa unit and mandatory notification of isolation on board, cleaning and disinfection, as well as the definition of those responsible for each activity, definition of the communication channel of the crew with the health service to inform the presence of signs and symptoms and/or contact with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID -19. The document must be available for consultation by the health authority;
The vessel operator must concentrate the disembark of suspected cases in the places with the best service support, considering the places defined by the Sanitary Authority in conjunction with the State and Municipal Health Secretariat;
The operator should keep Anvisa’s local unit updated regarding the facilities (hotels, for example) used by the shipping company for isolation/quarantine of passengers and crew;
It is required to adopt permanent communication to the local Anvisa unit of the hotels used for the purposes of pre-boarding quarantine, testing and isolation of confirmed and suspected cases, daily updating information on the number of people in isolation in each location, as well as the hospitals/clinics used for diagnosis /assistance/rehabilitation;
Free Pratique
Vessels in international transit must present the Medical Log Book containing the records of health events on board for the last 30 days at the time of application for the Certificate of Free Pratique. In the absence of a health event on board in the last 30 days, the date on which the last health event/ medical drug consumption on board occurred must be certified, which may occur through registration in the medical book or by declaration of the captain or officer crew member designated by him;
The Maritime Health Declaration – DMS must be completed correctly and signed by the Master or the designated officer, according to Art. 9 of the Resolution of the Collegiate Board – RDC # 72, of December 29, 2009, for evaluation of the issuance of the Certificate of Free Pratique. The omission of information that may lead to the introduction of health risk at the point of entry and in the country shall be subject to administrative, civil and criminal liability.
The prohibition of disembarking foreign crew and passengers in national ports is maintained, except for those related to repatriation and medical or dental assistance, as established in Ordinance # 652 of January 25, 2021 and its updates;
Disembarkation of crew
As long as the emergency situation of public health and community transmission by COVID-19 persists in the country, to minimize the risk of an outbreak and transmission on board vessels, the disembarkation of Brazilian crew and passengers in national ports is prohibited, except for issues related to the end of your onboard workday, end of employment contract and medical or dental assistance;
In the case of foreign crew members, the disembarkation authorization issued by Anvisa for repatriation purposes is subject to prior presentation of a diagnostic test of the RT-PCR type with a non-detectable result. This examination must be carried out before disembarking, still on the vessel;
Suspected / confirmed case of COVID-19
Laboratory confirmation of a case of COVID-19 should be done through a diagnostic test of the RT-PCR type.
In long-haul vessels, a suspected case of COVID-19 on board implies the need to test all crew members on board;
In the absence of specific laboratory investigation (RT-PCR), the confirmation of the case will be based on clinical and epidemiological criteria;
Should the specific laboratory investigation (RT-PCR) is carried out, the local Anvisa unit will evaluate the results received and provide the relevant referrals for the vessel’s release or not;
Every time a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 is identified on the vessel, the local Anvisa unit at the port of destination must be immediately informed;
The presence on board of a suspected or confirmed case for COVID-19 will imply quarantine of the vessel for 14 days from the date of symptoms started in the last case or date of collection of material for diagnostic examination;
If Anvisa identifies inconsistencies in the laboratory investigation (e.g. inconclusive report, negative result with collection outside the immunological window, etc.), the Health Authority has the prerogative to determine a quarantine of 14 days from the date of onset of symptoms or date collection of material to carry out a diagnostic examination of the case confirmed in the laboratory;
In the event of a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 prior to arrival at the port, the crew member must be kept in isolation, preferably in the cabin, and must wear a surgical mask or non-valved PFF2/N95. All travelers/crew on board must be clinically evaluated and tested for COVID-19, using the RT-PCR method. In these cases, the Certificate of Free Practice will not be issued, only authorization will be granted to dock the vessel, and a record of impediment of operation and undocking will be made at the DUV (Documento Único Virtual – Single Virtual Document) in order to ensure prior communication of the health event to all those involved in the port operation. The decision to dock or anchor the vessel will follow what is established in the local contingency plan;
During the quarantine period, the vessel, if berthed at the port, must remain in an isolated area with the access ladder(gangway) raised, access by people not being allowed without the express consent of Anvisa, except in emergency situations and essential to navigation safety and of human life, observing the correct use of Personal Protection Equipment(PPE);
After analyzing the results of the health assessments and diagnostic tests, the local Anvisa unit will define whether the suspected case will be discarded (presence of a disease other than COVID-19) and whether the confirmed case will be kept on board in isolation or removed for service health, and in the case of a Brazilian crewmember, authorization to disembark at home or in a hotel may be granted subject to the risk assessment to be carried out by the local Anvisa unit;
In the event of a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 during the ship’s operation, the crew member must be kept in isolation, preferably in the cabin, and must wear a surgical mask or a non-valved PFF2/N95 mask. The vessel’s operations will be promptly suspended by the local Anvisa unit, except for those necessary for navigation safety. Anvisa’s local unit will communicate the terminal and other port authorities about the case according to the local contingency plan. All crew members on board must be clinically evaluated and tested for COVID-19, by the RT-PCR method;
The continuity of the vessel’s operation will be evaluated by the local Anvisa team, especially with regard to the possibility of exposure of port workers to the affected crew during the operation. The control measures to be adopted during the operation must be in accordance with the Contingency Plans of the Terminal and of the shipowner company, considering the precautionary recommendations against COVID-19 (PPE) and according to the type of operation;
The end of quarantine will take place after 14 days from the date of beginning of symptoms of the suspected/confirmed case or from the date of collection of material for diagnostic examination of the last registered case. Upon sanitary risk assessment, Anvisa may release the vessel from quarantine before the end of the 14 days if non-detectable RT-PCR test is presented in a collection carried out from the 10th day of quarantine. The identification of a new case confirmed in the laboratory implies the restart of counting the quarantine time;
For ships in quarantine, it is recommended, for the purposes of verifying the continuity of viral transmission and adopting complementary health strategies, that companies enable intermediate testing(s) of the crew through the RT-PCR test. It should be noted that such testing will not be used as a basis for the vessel’s release;
The operations of water supply, food, removal of solid residues and sanitary events can occur normally, as long as they are authorized by the local Anvisa unit. Such authorization will preferably be granted via e-mail;
Crew changes
The Anvisa’s local unit, upon sanitary/health risk assessment, may authorize crew changes on vessels that present suspected or confirmed cases on board. In this case, handover will only be allowed if the following criteria are minimally met:
– 100% exchange of the crew on board;
– 100% RT-PCR test of the crew on board, carried out prior to the disembarkation authorization;
– Required to present the pre-shipment protocol adopted by the shipping company to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission on board, as well as proof of its compliance;
– The results of the RT-PCR test of the entire crew to be boarded must be presented, at a minimum, within 72 (seventy-two) hours of the scheduled date/time of boarding. The collection of the material must necessarily be carried out in the city of shipment;
– Proof that the crew to be boarded underwent pre-boarding monitoring for at least 14 days and clinical evaluation at the time of boarding;
– Required to present to the local Anvisa Unit the protocol containing detailed procedures regarding the operation of crew landing, removal and safe transport to the isolation and quarantine location, isolation of the suspected or confirmed case, quarantine of nearby contacts, cleaning, and high-level disinfection on the vessel between the departure of a group and the entrance of a new group, in accordance with the port’s contingency plan.
We are at disposal for any further information required.