MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands tighten up vessel entry policy

The Falkland Islands’ Executive Council this week agreed to tighten the policy governing the entry of vessels into the islands’ territorial waters and ports. Under the new policy, any vessel which has suspected or reported cases of Covid-19 “should not seek to enter Falkland Islands territorial waters and ports,” the Falklands government has confirmed.

The new policy could, if necessary, be enforced by means of an order made under existing harbours and ports legislation, effectively prohibiting the entry of a specific vessel.

According to a government press release, “these changes are also consistent with existing international obligations and the need to respect the right of innocent passage under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The Falklands Government also said that it intends to publish further Covid-19 guidance on the management of quarantine requirements for crews; the management of ship to ship and ship to harbour contacts; and how days at sea are counted to include territorial waters.

Covid cases down to 0

Official figures released this week show that, as of Tuesday, there were no active cases of Covid-19 in the Falkland Islands. Since 3 April there have been 54 positive tests in Falklands, with 7077 swab tests processed.