Turkey’s Directorate General of Health for Border and Coastal Areas has applied restrictions to vessels entering Turkish waters from some West African countries due to the risk of Ebola, shipping and marine services company GAC said in a statement.
Vessels entering Turkish waters from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria are prohibited from having contact with the mainland for crew change, provision supply, bunkering and other similar procedures, according to a circular issued by the directorate, GAC said.
“Contact with such vessels is considered to be highly risky due to Ebola. Contact will only be allowed after 21 days of sailing from port in the above-mentioned countries,” according to the circular.
Since the Ebola crisis began in West Africa in August, the shipping community has begun inserting certain clauses into its charter agreements aimed at mitigating the risk of vessels being quarantined.
Some ports have also applied restrictions and quarantine processes of their own to vessels coming from West Africa.