Four cruise ships have departed the Port of Gulfport due to a shelter-in-place order by the governer which goes into effect this evening.
Cruise Ships Depart Before Order Goes Into Effect
Four cruise ships have departed the Port of Gulf Port after a “shelter-in-place ” order was announced by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. The new order will go into effect from 5:00 PM local time on Friday and remain until April 20, 2020. This is to help stop the spread of the virus and protect the public.
With the new order going into effect, it means four cruise ships have departed to find elsewhere to dock or anchor. The four ships which were docked in Gulfport were from Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean including Carnival Valor, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Glory and Majesty of the Seas.
It was not a sudden scramble to depart as Port of Gulfport executive director and CEO Jonathan Daniels was informed on Tuesday. Cruise lines had time to make their alternative arrangements and authorities provided a heads up so they could prepare.
At the moment the Carnival Valor and Carnival Freedom remain anchored just off the Mississippi coast. The Carnival Glory seems to be heading for the Port of New Orleans and Majesty of the Seas heading for Galveston, Texas. If ports are full then ships can rotate by spending some time out at sea.
Royal Caribbean currently has suspended operations until May 12, 2020, and Carnival Cruise Line through May 11, 2020. None of the cruise ships are usually based out of Gulfport but that could change in the future once things return to normal.
A shelter-in-place order pretty much means a lock down where residents must remains indoors unless they need to go out for essentials. Also residents will be allowed to exercise outside but must keep to social distancing.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the state of Mississippi currently has 1,358 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 26 have died. The infection rate in the United Staes stands at 245,601 and keeps going up. The Port of Gulfport is located on the Gulf coast between the popular Port of New Orleans and the Port of Mobile, Alabama which Carnival Fantasy is based out of.
