The World — Residences at Sea, the largest privately owned residential yacht, has entered into a port agreement with the state’s port and health authorities, allowing it to sail to the islands, the Department of Transportation announced Friday.
The World is allowed to resume sailing in Hawaii waters after a 2-1/2-year break following the halt of cruise ships at the start of the pandemic.
According to its website, The World “is the largest private residential ship on the planet” and is “home to only 165 Residences,” and says it is not a cruise ship.
Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Lines have also signed port agreements with the state. Carnival’s Grand Princess sailed into Honolulu Harbor on Sunday.
The return of the cruise ships has some residents worried that the thousands of passengers and crew members may be bringing more cases of COVID-19 to the state, which is already inundated with cases, hitting record highs in recent weeks and overwhelming the health care system.
The agreement allows the cruise lines to bring in ships with capacities of more than 250 people (combining passengers and crew).
The state is allowed to rescind, suspend or amend the port agreements at any time.
The cruise lines have all committed to full vaccination rates, in addition to pre-board testing and onboard safety and cleaning protocols.
Each ship must have its own onboard testing and medical staff to enable them to treat those on board with COVID-19, as well as prevent and mitigate cases of the coronavirus, the DOT said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating more than 90 ships for COVID-19.
The CDC investigates any ship with 0.1% or more cases of COVID-19 among its passengers on board or one or more cases among its crew.
