Cruise liner gets world's first at-sea Covid testing lab

The full-scale PCR testing facility uses a saliva swab for daily testing of all passengers and crew

The Viking Star is the first cruise liner in the world to have its own full-scale laboratory with capacity to test all crew and passengers for the coronavirus on a daily basis. Courtesy Viking Cruises

Viking Cruises has installed the world's first full-scale at sea PCR testing facility on-board one of its cruise ships.

The laboratory on the 227-metre-long Viking Star cruise liner will be able to process daily tests for all 930 passengers, and the ship's crew members on a daily basis.

If proven successful, it could give a welcome boost to the cruising industry, which has been hit hard by the global pandemic.

Daily tests for all travellers on the Viking Star will involve a saliva swab, a less invasive method of testing than nose swabs.

Switzerland's Viking Cruises has completed installation of the facility and will now start testing it. The first demonstrations are scheduled to take place in mid-November when the Viking Star sails to Oslo in Norway.

A unique problem for the cruise industry is being able to continuously test passengers when they embark and disembark at port destinations on cruise itineraries. Some cruises around the world have resumed operations with new safety measures including temperature scanning and pre-boarding test requirements. Being able to test passengers on a daily basis while at sea could allow cruise operators a much faster return to the ocean.

"We have been working on this for a number of months, and today is important as it moves us one step closer to operating cruises again, without compromising the safety of our guests and crew," says Matt Grimes, vice president of maritime operations for Viking.

"In our view, continuous PCR testing, along with our extensive on-board hygiene protocols, will lead to making Viking ships a safe place to get away to and explore the world,”

Viking announced the news at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has shut down sailings in much of the world.