Two Carnival crew members break the rules, leave ship docked in Gulfport
Two employees on one of the cruise ships docked in Gulfport were allowed to leave the ship Sunday and depart the Coast, breaking protocol set in place by Carnival that was approved by the Port of Gulfport, port director Jonathan Daniels told the Sun Herald on Monday.
Daniels said the two who left the Carnival Valor cruise ship were French nationals who were supposed to depart in New Orleans before the ship made its way to Gulfport.
The employees were allowed to get off the ship by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent and the vessel’s agent, Daniels said. Carnival and the port agreed that the employees would remained quarantined on the ships while they were docked on the Coast amid new coronavirus concerns. There were 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mississippi by Monday.
“Once we found out, I contacted Carnival,” Daniels said. “That was not to happen. That will not be happening again.”
Daniels said he saw a photo of the two employees being picked up by transportation arranged by the Carnival agent outside of the port gate. Daniels said he believes the employees were headed back to France, but he did know if they were being taken to the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport or out of state.
The employees are “not in the (Gulfport) community” now, Daniels said.
There are three cruise ships currently docked in Gulfport. Each ship has about 1,000 aboard, Daniels said. The cruise ships will be here for at least 30 days, but it could be longer.
Daniels said the port has added security outside each ship to ensure no other employees are allowed off the ship.
Before coming to Gulfport, the Carnival Valor potentially carried a patient who has been diagnosed with new coronavirus. The passenger was a 49-year-old man from Ohio who tested positive for COVID-19 after he started displaying symptoms, news outlets in Columbus, Ohio, reported.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 5:48 PM.
