The Nippon Maru arrived at Sasebo Port in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Monday, the first port of call by a domestic cruise ship after an eight-month hiatus due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The previous docking by a cruise ship carrying passengers was on Feb. 26 at Yokohama Port in Kanagawa Prefecture, according to the transport ministry.
Starting in November, Japanese cruise ships with up to weeklong itineraries are scheduled to arrive at numerous ports in Kyushu. To prevent the spread of the virus, industry associations have compiled infection prevention guidelines for cruise ship operators and related businesses.
The Nippon Maru -- a 22,472-ton ship operated by Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Passenger Line Ltd. -- arrived at Sasebo Port's Shinminato pier shortly before 9 a.m. on Monday. It had departed from Niihama Port in Ehime Prefecture on Sunday with about 200 Japanese passengers on board.
The ship is scheduled to leave Sasebo on Monday evening, so passengers had only one day for sightseeing.
After disembarking, passengers had their body temperature checked and disinfected their hands. Once they were given the all clear, they tooked chartered buses or taxis to destinations such as the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo.
The Nippon Maru's port of call was allowed on condition that about 30 steps were taken against infection. Using guidelines compiled by the Japan Oceangoing Passenger Ship Association as a base, the Sasebo city government added other measures as well, including requiring people to take a PCR test two days before boarding the ship and reserving the right to rescind permission to dock if infections spread in the city.
The ship's operator also reduced the number of passengers to less than half the ship's capacity of 532 and installed thermography devices and other items as prevention measures.
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