Spanish operator Baleària is working towards being the first shipping line in the world to obtain the Global Safe Site Covid-19 badge at the highest level (Excellence) from the international certification and inspection body Bureau Veritas (BV), the company said in a statement on Tuesday, May 5.
This certifies that Baleària's vessels and the ferry terminals that it manages implement specific procedures, cleaning plans, and organisational and personal protective measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The carrier will also periodically be testing for the possible presence of the virus on surfaces in order to obtain the certificate at Excellence level.
The certificate will guarantee that Baleària goes beyond the guidelines of the Spanish Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation by conducting more complete, reinforced procedures on top of those indicated by the said authorities in terms of safety and cleaning.
Certification will cover 16 of the company's ships, which includes the 12 currently in operation and an additional four expected to enter service when the current restrictions on passenger travel are lifted, as well as the two ferry terminals that it manages directly, namely, Dénia and Valencia.
Certification is expected to be issued in early June, and will be renewed every six months with periodic inspections.
Baleària's aim is to obtain the certificate at the Excellence level, for which BV will examine the effectiveness of its programme by measuring appropriate disinfection of surfaces to deal with any possible presence of Covid-19, through periodic inspections conducted by a laboratory.
For the initial analysis, samples will be taken from the 12 ships and the ferry terminals, with 19 analyses being performed, to be repeated each month on board two of the ships and at one ferry terminal. If a positive result is detected for any of the ships or facilities, an exceptional analysis will be conducted.