Cruise Ship With 4 Dead Possibly Headed To Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — A Holland America Line cruise ship with four dead passengers and its sister ship have apparently been given permission to pass through the Panama Canal, possibly clearing the way for one or both of the vessels to make their way to a Florida port.

"We are aware of reported permission for both Zaandam and Rotterdam to transit the Panama Canal in the near future," a spokesperson for Holland America, which owns the ships, confirmed late Saturday night. "We greatly appreciate this consideration in the humanitarian interest of our guests and crew."

The cruise line, which is owned by South-Florida based Carnival Corp., previously said the Zaandam planned to sail to Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades after 53 passengers and 85 crew members reported to the ship's medical center with flu-like symptoms. Two people later tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Port Everglades is located in Broward County, which is at the epicenter of Florida's coronavirus outbreak along with nearby Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Some Broward County officials bristled at the suggestion of allowing the Zaandam to disembark at Port Everglades.

Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness said the port still had not received a request for the Zaandam to berth in Fort Lauderdale as recently as a few days ago.

The ship had 1,243 passengers and 586 crew on board. No one has been off the ship since March 14 in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Appearing on WPLG-TV's "This Week In South Florida, Broward Commissioner Michael Udine told host Glenna Milberg the Zaandam is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale by Wednesday at the earliest. He said he would insist on having a comprehensive plan in place to deal with the passengers and crew before allowing anyone to come ashore.

"These are people that by definition will have to self-quarantine. How is that going to take place?Where is that going to take place," Udine asked. "There’s got to be better places throughout the country that aren’t hot spots."

The cruise line said previously that the Zaandam planned to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, but alternative options were also being considered. The passengers who died were described as "older" guests.

"This remains a dynamic situation and we continue to work with the Panamanian authorities to finalize details," the Holland America spokesperson said on Saturday night.

The Zaandam rendezvoused with the Rotterdam Thursday night. Officials planned to transfer groups of healthy Zaandam guests to the Rotterdam while guests who were ill, or in isolation, were to remain on the Zaandam with crew members.

The Zaandam was sailing a South America voyage that departed Buenos Aires on March 7. It had been scheduled to end the voyage in San Antonio, Chile on March 21.