AdivingBel
Diver
I'm on the Juliet going to the Bahamas July 18th. If the boat sails I'll post my experience.
Liveaboard and social distancing for Covid-19
- Thread starter Interceptor121
- Start date
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The reality of live-aboard travel is it's not conducive for socially distancing at all times. Even if you're a single in a room, you're sharing the same ventilation on the boat and you're in constant close contact with guests and crew. I'm not a fan of sharing accommodations with a stranger in a room the size of a large closet even before COVID-19. I choose to sit out of live-aboard diving till next year.
Dan
Contributor
I got the following guidelines to minimize the potential virus spreading in the LOB:
“Nautilus COVID-19 safe travel practices
The following practices are based on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements for joining a ship. Compliance is mandatory on Nautilus ISM safety management system certified ships. Please call or email our operations desk with any questions, comments or concerns...
General Measures
• Comply with standard infection protection and control precautions related to hygiene:
• e.g. hand-washing using the 20-second hand-washing rule with hot water and soap
• Use of hand-sanitizer
• Avoid touching your face, particularly eyes, nose, mouth with your hands to prevent from getting infected
• Cough/sneeze into the bend of your elbow
• If you use a tissue, discard of it properly and wash/sanitize your hands immediately etc.
• Avoid close contact with anyone who is or appears unwell or shows COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. cough, fever, etc.).
• Maintain a WHO recommended social distance of at least 1 metre (3 feet) between yourself and others.
• Wear a mask in all public areas
• Avoid shaking hands, do not share food, drink, utensils etc.
Preboarding Guidelines: before you leave your place of residence
• Be sure to monitor your health before leaving to travel to join us on the ship.
• Check your temperature twice daily and keep records for 7 days before travel and inform us if you show any symptoms.
• Inform us if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or show any symptoms before leaving to travel to join the ship.
• Make arrangements to bring the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) sufficient to cover the period of travel
to the ship.
Practices while at the airport/ on the aircraft:
• Arrange transportation to/from the airport that minimizes contact with other persons, such as trusted private provider. Avoid using public transportation.
• Wear PPE as instructed for the duration of travel as far as practicable (e.g. mask and gloves, etc.)
• Carry and handle your own luggage to the extent possible.
• Keep all relevant documents required for travel, in a bag or compartment that can be easily accessed to be
disinfected later.
• Maintain social distancing onboard the flight when possible, and sit with appropriate seat spacing, as arranged by
the airline or cabin crew on board the aircraft.
• Limit exposure to aircraft crew during in-flight service and other passengers when using the facilities when
possible.
Local hotel stay:
• Pay special attention to social distancing, hygiene and PPE requirements at the hotel.
• Maintain temperature checks twice daily and keeping a record.
• Continue to handle your own luggage at the hotel.
• Consider declining daily room cleaning service.
Nautilus COVID-19 safe travel practices
Prior to boarding one of our ships
• Properly dispose of any single-use PPE used during travel (only that which cannot be washed/disinfected).
• We will provide complimentary health checks before boarding (e.g. having your temperature taken at the time of embarkation, reviewing mandatory temperature records, being tested for COVID-19 if suitable test kits are
available etc.)
• Please wear a mask in all public spaces.
• We will arrange for disinfection of your luggage and dive gear at our hospitality suite.
Onboard our ships
• Practice shipboard self-distancing (SSD), as far as possible, that might include:
• Avoiding all non-essential contact or close proximity with others on board
• All spaces on the ships including your stateroom will have been disinfected with vital oxide application by
fogging machines. Minimum 1 week hold time.
• Staggered meal service, dive and safety briefings, dive times.
• Please wear a mask in all public spaces including dive skiffs.
• We will issue sanitized individual second stage regulators on all white shark trips.
• Option to decline or limit daily room cleaning service.
• Crew assistance with buffet meal service and drinks.
• Use the designated space for your equipment
Disembarkation:
• Wearing appropriate PPE and disposal of single-use PPE worn onboard prior to disembarkation.”
“Nautilus COVID-19 safe travel practices
The following practices are based on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements for joining a ship. Compliance is mandatory on Nautilus ISM safety management system certified ships. Please call or email our operations desk with any questions, comments or concerns...
General Measures
• Comply with standard infection protection and control precautions related to hygiene:
• e.g. hand-washing using the 20-second hand-washing rule with hot water and soap
• Use of hand-sanitizer
• Avoid touching your face, particularly eyes, nose, mouth with your hands to prevent from getting infected
• Cough/sneeze into the bend of your elbow
• If you use a tissue, discard of it properly and wash/sanitize your hands immediately etc.
• Avoid close contact with anyone who is or appears unwell or shows COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. cough, fever, etc.).
• Maintain a WHO recommended social distance of at least 1 metre (3 feet) between yourself and others.
• Wear a mask in all public areas
• Avoid shaking hands, do not share food, drink, utensils etc.
Preboarding Guidelines: before you leave your place of residence
• Be sure to monitor your health before leaving to travel to join us on the ship.
• Check your temperature twice daily and keep records for 7 days before travel and inform us if you show any symptoms.
• Inform us if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or show any symptoms before leaving to travel to join the ship.
• Make arrangements to bring the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) sufficient to cover the period of travel
to the ship.
Practices while at the airport/ on the aircraft:
• Arrange transportation to/from the airport that minimizes contact with other persons, such as trusted private provider. Avoid using public transportation.
• Wear PPE as instructed for the duration of travel as far as practicable (e.g. mask and gloves, etc.)
• Carry and handle your own luggage to the extent possible.
• Keep all relevant documents required for travel, in a bag or compartment that can be easily accessed to be
disinfected later.
• Maintain social distancing onboard the flight when possible, and sit with appropriate seat spacing, as arranged by
the airline or cabin crew on board the aircraft.
• Limit exposure to aircraft crew during in-flight service and other passengers when using the facilities when
possible.
Local hotel stay:
• Pay special attention to social distancing, hygiene and PPE requirements at the hotel.
• Maintain temperature checks twice daily and keeping a record.
• Continue to handle your own luggage at the hotel.
• Consider declining daily room cleaning service.
Nautilus COVID-19 safe travel practices
Prior to boarding one of our ships
• Properly dispose of any single-use PPE used during travel (only that which cannot be washed/disinfected).
• We will provide complimentary health checks before boarding (e.g. having your temperature taken at the time of embarkation, reviewing mandatory temperature records, being tested for COVID-19 if suitable test kits are
available etc.)
• Please wear a mask in all public spaces.
• We will arrange for disinfection of your luggage and dive gear at our hospitality suite.
Onboard our ships
• Practice shipboard self-distancing (SSD), as far as possible, that might include:
• Avoiding all non-essential contact or close proximity with others on board
• All spaces on the ships including your stateroom will have been disinfected with vital oxide application by
fogging machines. Minimum 1 week hold time.
• Staggered meal service, dive and safety briefings, dive times.
• Please wear a mask in all public spaces including dive skiffs.
• We will issue sanitized individual second stage regulators on all white shark trips.
• Option to decline or limit daily room cleaning service.
• Crew assistance with buffet meal service and drinks.
• Use the designated space for your equipment
Disembarkation:
• Wearing appropriate PPE and disposal of single-use PPE worn onboard prior to disembarkation.”
Mike1967
Contributor
I'm going on a liveaboard in 6 weeks, it's single occupancy for the price of twin share. Win win 
It seems like nearly everyone is taking into consideration their own risk factors and making decisions based on that. I am hopeful that in the future, people will not go to work sick, will wash their hands, not cough without covering their mouth, etc like they did in the pre-covid era. I am glad to see the LOBs starting back up for those who can go. I hope they find it very profitable. Informed consent. Let's face it- diving is not as safe as staying home and neither is going to the grocery store. I think so far, the LOBs are doing a good job letting us know where they stand on what will happen when they decide to start back up.
scrane
Contributor
I would assume that if you get on a liveaboard with one positive Covid 19 passenger or crew that by the end of the trip everyone aboard will be infected.
Dan
Contributor
Not necessarily. I can only speak for my own recent liveaboard experience. Raja Ampat Jan 2020 Trip Report
One of my buddies came to Sorong, Indonesia, a few days earlier before boarding the boat and caught some kind of flu in the city when he was wondering in the market, looking for souvenirs. He had to miss some dives. I sat next to him during one of the dinner time and got it too. However my case wasn't so bad and only 3 other people out of 34-36 people on the boat got it. I think, as long as you contain the sick one and keep social distancing on the boat and wearing mask if social distancing is not possible, we should be able to minimize the spread while in the boat.
scrane
Contributor
OP
I just received an email from Egypt. All operations are running 50% occupancy and liveaboard are single person per cabin
Is this enough or not to prevent covid I am not sure but this is the status of play in that market
I am hoping to go diving in italy in the next weeks but it will be resort based
Is this enough or not to prevent covid I am not sure but this is the status of play in that market
I am hoping to go diving in italy in the next weeks but it will be resort based
Shasta_man
Contributor
For the entire trip to get there plus the boat, I would count the risk to be exposed to it and getting it if you are as high. And the likelihood of preventing transmission would be very low on something as small as a boat for a week or more using just handwashing and a mask which is all we have. The mask is good for containing incidental transmission but if it's airborne, the masks we use are not good enough because any air getting around the mask could contain it. How many people are using bandanas, let alone a real mask. And trying to keep surfaces clean is very difficult. You can see that at home with your family members. It's extremely difficult to continuously clean all surfaces and not come into contact with surfaces others have touched.
I respect Dan's experience very much, but I think it's unlikely that was COVID19 and COVID19 seems to be much more contagious than most other viruses the world has dealt with. In six months, it's infected over 10 million people all over the world and killed half a million. The biggest thing for me is we don't know why it kills this guy and not that guy. And it's not just old people that get it and die. I think Texas said the median age previously was 65 but for recent cases is 35.
I think that is the realistic expectation.
Whether you get it is still chance, but I'd use that as the expectation. I'd like it to be different too.
Incidentally, I was on a week long liveaboard with someone who got on the boat sick and never dove because of that (how irritating would that be) but was around sometime. I started getting sick on day 4, I think from the stairway railing, and it blocked my sinus so diving was over.
I respect Dan's experience very much, but I think it's unlikely that was COVID19 and COVID19 seems to be much more contagious than most other viruses the world has dealt with. In six months, it's infected over 10 million people all over the world and killed half a million. The biggest thing for me is we don't know why it kills this guy and not that guy. And it's not just old people that get it and die. I think Texas said the median age previously was 65 but for recent cases is 35.
I think that is the realistic expectation.
Whether you get it is still chance, but I'd use that as the expectation. I'd like it to be different too.
Incidentally, I was on a week long liveaboard with someone who got on the boat sick and never dove because of that (how irritating would that be) but was around sometime. I started getting sick on day 4, I think from the stairway railing, and it blocked my sinus so diving was over.
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