News / Covid outbreak discovered on ONE ship in Busan

ONE Competence Credit VesselFinder.

UPDATED 27 JULY WITH ONE RESPONSE

Several crew members on ONE Competence, an 8,110 teu ship operated by THE Alliance, tested positive for Covid-19 while the ship was at berth in Busan last week.

ONE Competence, which plies the transpacific trades to the US west coast, had entered the HMM PSA Pusan Newport Terminal last Monday, according to vessel-tracking data, and a customer advisory from ONE said that on Thursday, several crew members tested positive for Covid-19.

South Korea requires all crew members on incoming ships to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and those who test positive for Covid-19 will be taken off the ship and sent to a medical facility, while the others will be quarantined on the vessel.

The ONE advisory said: “We have taken the necessary measures to enable cargo operations at Busan. We’re working on ensuring that the vessel meets the required Covid-19 regulations to be able to continue its westward voyage.”

Ships with Covid-19 infections usually undergo deep cleaning before they can resume sailing.

ONE Competence was scheduled to have moved on to Shanghai, but its arrival there will now be delayed to 5 August. Vessel-tracking data shows the ship, owned by ONE shareholder MOL, is now isolating off Busan.

A spokesperson for ONE told The Loadstar that the cargoes on ONE Competence remain on the ship.

She said: “We’re working on continuing transportation with this vessel. [The] new schedule will be updated to all customers, along with other developments (if any).”