Restrictions on arrivals from Denmark

10 Nov 2020 / United Kingdom

Due to additional risks posed by COVID-19 in Denmark, the UK Government is imposing severe restrictions are being imposed on anyone arriving into the UK, in any capacity, directly or indirectly from Denmark or has been in Denmark within the previous 14 days prior to their arrival.

This includes restrictions on the crew of any vessel which has been into a Danish port, whether or not they have been given temporary shore leave at a Danish port, and any crew who have joined a vessel in a Danish port, all within the last 14 days.

The current position from Border Force is as follows:

“Vessels bringing in unaccompanied freight can enter the UK, providing that the crew do not have meaningful contact with UK residents (for instance, they may disembark to inspect the outside of the vehicle/vessel, but may not interact with residents or pass border control during the discharge of cargo)”.

For any vessel arriving in the UK that has been in a Danish port within the last 14 days, the crew may not leave the vessel in the UK except to inspect the outside of that vessel. They must follow all the safe systems of work and may not interact closely with anyone on the dockside, including port staff and anyone loading the vessel with cargo or provisions, and under no circumstances can they be given temporary shore leave for any reason.

Any vessel which has travelled directly from Denmark, or been in Denmark within the past 14 days, will not be allowed to discharge foreign nationals in the UK. Foreign nationals will require to stay on the vessel and are not allowed ashore for any reason, including crew changes.

UK and Irish Citizens, and any person with EU Settlement status in the UK will be allowed to leave the vessel to go home, but must self-isolate for 14 days, along with all members of their respective households.

For any person travelling to the UK to join a vessel - if they have travelled from Denmark, or transited Denmark, they will be refused entry at the border. Current exemptions for seafarers relating to the need to self-isolate when travelling from other locations do not apply to those coming via Denmark.

Crew seeking to repatriate home by signing off in the UK will be refused entry if they have arrived from Denmark. Nor will they be permitted to leave the vessel on Temporary Shore leave.

For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in the United Kingdom, contact GAC UK at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.