All departures with ECKERÖ will be cancelled from 16 March to 14 April says Eckerö on their website.
Finland will start to restrict travelling to Finland as from 19 March 2020 midnight. These limitations remain in force until 13 April 2020.
Finnlines will do their best to ensure that people have the possibility to get home and undertake essential travel:
Finnish citizens and people living in Finland can return to Finland. Note, that the travellers should stay at their homes 14 days after returning home.
Foreign travellers in Finland can return to their home countries.
EU citizens are allowed to return via Finland to their home countries.
Cargo transportation will continue as usual and drivers will be transported normally since essential traveling for work is allowed.
More on Finnlines News.
Fjordline opened a new extraordinary route between Kristiansand and Hirtshals with a port call in Stavanger, departing twice a week.
Entry to Denmark is restricted to Danish nationals only.
Entry to Norway is only for individuals traveling within the Nordic countries.
Due to restrictions from national authorities, Fjordline closed its buffet restaurant on all ships.
The Grandi Navi Veloci-controlled ferry SPLENDID will be ready to accommodate patients as from next Monday, according to what Giovanni Totti, head of the Liguria Region said.
The vessel is moored in the port of Genoa and some 25 cabins on Deck 7 have been already fitted with some specific equipment and services to accommodate affected people.
The ship capacity for hosting patients may be double soon and can reach 100 persons, following some refitting still ongoing onboard.
Following the idea launched by Grandi Navi Veloci, also some other companies in Italy (such as Moby, Grimaldi and Adria Ferries) said they would be pleased to offer their ferries for the same purpose. Charter fees and adaptation works would be paid by the Italian public body Protezione Civile, in charge for managing the coronavirus emergency.
The Hellenic Government decided on 15 March:
- Interruption of passenger sea transport to and from Italy. The transport of goods and freights continues.
- Ban on cruise liners and sailboats calls in the Greek ports.
All Greek ferry operators that serve the Patras-Ancona and Bari runs announced a conversion-cancellation of tickets on the Adriatic Sea due to the Corona Virus. This policy will be valid until April 3, 2020 and will apply for tickets that have a travel date up to April 30. This policy will be revised if necessary.
Α legislative initiative –with immediate appliance- is expected by the Hellenic Ministry of Shipping which will contain measures that will tackle with the problems encountered mainly in Hellenic Coastal Shipping, in order to maintain the necessary connection of the islands with the inland country as well as the smooth operation of ships flying the Greek flag. Among the measures that are examined are:
- Allow only permanent island residents to travel
- Citizens who are not permanent island residents, must prove their necessity to travel to the islands
- The obligation of passengers to notify -with an official statement- if they come from abroad and from which country.
- Decontamination of all the ferries’ public areas/spaces on regular basis
- Maintain the ferry lines given the reduced passenger traffic. The state consider even to subsidy the ferry operators because of the emergency situation
- Revision of the current sea transport network if it becomes necessary
- The Hellenic Ministry of Shipping estimates that the crisis is severe and some shipping companies may face a sustainability problem.
It should be noted that according to Michalis Sakellis, president of the Association of Passenger Maritime Enterprises, passenger traffic in the upcoming summer season in Greece is expected to be worse than the winter season which is 20% lower than last year.
Hurtigruten will stop operations on the Norwegian coast through 19 April.
In Italy all services for the maritime transport of passengers have been suspended not only on the international routes but also to and from the Sicily and Sardinia islands.
This is the result of the strict measures introduced from the local government to limit the outbreak of the Coronavirus which is heavily impacting mainly the Lombardia region.
As of today, the transport of passengers is closed between Italy and Croatia, Albania, Greece, Malta, Spain and North African countries.
The ferry companies are only allowed to embark people who are trying to go back home. That was the case mainly on the Barcelona – Civitavecchia route with Grimaldi Lines.
Several ships are now laid up in Italian ports. Roro ships and a few vessels transporting freight only are still active.
High-speed ferries deployed on the short sea routes in the Gulf of Naples, in Venice and to/from the Elba island are regularly operating too.
Jadrolinija decided to interrupt the international line Split – Ancona until 1 April, while the line Dubrovnik – Bari will be suspended until 19 April.
The local routes are not interrupted.
Only high-speed ferry EXPRESS 4 is operating the route between Aarhus and Odden. Few passengers on the route means that a single ferry can easily complete the task.
Morocco closed the border with Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s two North African enclaves, early on Friday 13 March.