Protecting passengers and crew from disease outbreaks is one of Cruise Line’s major responsibilities.
In the early 1970 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) as a cooperative activity between the U.S. Public Health Service and the Cruise Industry.
The Environmental Health Officers of VSP conduct ship sanitation inspections twice each year providing a written report of the items found deficient and making these reports available to the public on their website.
This initiative has been followed by several other national health organizations including the Health Canada Workplace Health and Public Safety Program, the Australian Cruise Health Surveillance and Inspection, the European Community Ship San Project, and the Brazilian Sanitary Surveillance Agency.
It is therefore imperative that shipboard management and crew is fully familiar with all U.S. and international sanitation requirements to prevent any gastrointestinal outbreaks on board as well as to successfully pass the various health organizations inspections.
To this effect the Maritime Holdings Group in addition to his signature “Vessel Sanitation Program” service has developed the following specific training programs aimed to provide shipboard personnel and cruise line management with the necessary expertise and know-how:
- I.P.M. (Integrated Pest Management) plan
- H.A.C.C.P. (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
- O.P.R.P. (Outbreak Prevention and Response Protocol)
- Potable Water Management
This is a concise description to the Ship Sanitation training program:
I.P.M. (Integrated Pest Management) Plan
Cruise lines normally contract pest control companies to manage the Integrated Pest Management
The Maritime Holdings Group has developed an effective system to implement the I.P.M. (Integrated Pest Management) program in-house thus obtaining more consistent results and – at the same time – drastically reduce the cost of the operation
The Maritime Holdings Group can assist you in implementing the I.P.M. system in-house using its experience and skill in ship’s sanitation procedures and pest control operation.
For additional information about in-house I.P.M. implementation timeline please contact:
Paolo Benassi
pbenassi@maritimeholdingsgroup.com
Telephone: +1 954-242-5753
H.A.C.C.P. (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
The preparation of a successful HACCP plan is a time consuming operation that requires a dedicated effort from shore side and ship side management, and is placing additional burden on the already busy schedule of shipboard staff.
The Maritime Holdings Group can assist you in the preparation of the HACCP plan using its experience and skill in ship’s sanitation procedures and ship’s operating manuals.
The steps to be followed for the preparation of the HACCP plan are:
- A meeting with your shore side management to present our proposed action plan and finalize its implementation schedule in agreement with your staff;
- A visit to the ship/s (usually one week for a 7 day itinerary) to meet with onboard key management staff in view to determine the specific Critical Control Points of its food operation based on the individual design, physical condition and any other relevant issue;
- Preparation and presentation of the completed HACCP plan to your shore side management;
- The presentation of the HACCP to the Ship’s management can either be performed by a Maritime Holdings Group trainer or by your staff.
For additional information about planning and cost please contact:
Paolo Benassi
pbenassi@maritimeholdingsgroup.com
Telephone: +1 954-242-5753
O.P.R.P. (Outbreak Prevention and Response Protocol)
Norovirus outbreaks have become quite common on cruise ships and their consequences in term of legal actions, bad publicity and passenger complaints are negative for the industry.
The O.P.R.P. (Outbreak Prevention and Response Protocol) has been developed to address standard policies and procedures to be implemented by onboard management and crew members for gastrointestinal illness outbreak prevention, response and control onboard.
The Maritime Holdings Group in line with the requirements of the Vessel Sanitation Program and other international organization has prepared an effective O.P.R.P. for several cruise ships and can assist you in the development and implementation of the protocol together with mandatory training of shipboard staff.
For additional information about O.P.R.P. implementation timeline please contact:
Paolo Benassi
pbenassi@maritimeholdingsgroup.com
Telephone: +1 954-242-5753
Potable Water Management
One of the most important topics of the Vessel Sanitation Program is potable water.
This is the water that all passengers and crew drink, wash and have their meals prepared with.
Chlorinating the water during bunkering, storage tanks and the distribution water lines, kills the germs that cause bacteria that are maybe present in the supply being received from ashore.
When the water is not chlorinated, any germs and bacteria present in the water will be able to multiply thus causing diarrhea and other serious illnesses to passengers and crew.
If the bacteria are of a very strong type such as Legionaries disease there is even the possibility of death.
The Maritime Holdings Group in line with the requirements of the Vessel Sanitation Program and other international organizations can assist you in ensuring that the potable water chlorination system is properly managed and train shipboard staff accordingly.
For additional information about Potable Water Management courses contact:
Paolo Benassi
pbenassi@maritimeholdingsgroup.com
Telephone: +1 954-242-5753