Maritime Guidance
If you’re a cruise passenger looking for information, visit CDC’s Cruise Ship Travel webpage.
The maritime guidance is for vessels operating in US waters and includes recommendations on preventing and managing illnesses to help provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers and crew, as well as requirements for reporting illnesses and deaths to CDC.
Disease-specific guidance is provided for cruise ships and non-passenger carrying vessels (e.g., cargo/container ships, bulk carriers, tanker ships, offshore ships, special purpose ships). Other passenger-carrying vessels (e.g., ferries) may also find this guidance useful as they develop their operational procedures.
All vessels sailing from a non-US port destined to a US port are required to report certain illnesses and all deaths that occur among travelers on board.
Recommendations for all maritime crew members to protect themselves and others from COVID-19, and healthy ways to cope with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Definitions of Signs, Symptoms, and Conditions of Ill Travelers
- Explanation of Key Fields in Maritime Conveyance Illness or Death Investigation Form
- Federal Regulations for Reporting Death or Illness on Ships Destined for the United States
- CDC Quarantine Stations and Jurisdictions
- Ship Sanitation Certificates