The Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbors Division signed another port agreement with a cruise company to restart operations in Hawaiian waters.
World Residences at Sea/The World ship signed an agreement that is formalizing health & safety protocols to operate a cruise line in Hawaii.
CCL-Carnival Cruise Line and NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line had previously signed such port agreements with Hawaii.
According to the latest order of the USA's CDC agency, cruise lines that carry 250+ persons (passengers and crew) with overnight stays are required to have a port agreement with local port and health authorities.
According to a release, the agreement required "each ship to have onboard testing and medical staff to ensure proper prevention, mitigation, and response protocols and training,"
"Additionally, cruise lines have committed to full vaccination rates in addition to pre-board testing and onboard safety and cleaning protocols."
Cruise travelers will still be required to participate in the Safe Travels program of the state and upload proof of vaccination or negative COVID test results upon arrival in Hawaii.
World Residences at Sea calls itself a "community at sea." MS The World is the world's largest private residential yacht. Her residents travel the globe without ever leaving home.
Until cruise officials worked out a port agreement while in the port, The World cruise ship passengers initially were not allowed to disembark in Honolulu Harbor (Oahu Island, Hawaii). On January 11, The World became the 2nd cruise ship to arrive since the COVID crisis started.
The cruise was able to come to an agreement on Friday afternoon, January 14. It is unclear if vacationers had time to disembark.