By
Rebecca Gibson |
Holland America Line’s Koningsdam earned full marks in her first-ever routine US Public Health (USPH) inspection conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lunched in April 2016, Koningsdam underwent her unannounced inspection on 20 December 2016 during at San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the middle of a 10-day Caribbean cruise.
“A new class of ship means many firsts for our crew in managing operations on board, and we couldn't be more proud of everyone on Koningsdam who worked diligently to earn a perfect score for the ship's first public health inspection in the United States," said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We're doing very well on our USPH inspections, and we're going to continue to focus on maintaining the highest standards across our fleet. Congratulations to the officers and staff of Koningsdam for this well-earned accomplishment.”
CDC inspections are part of the Vessel Sanitation Program, which was introduced in the early 1970s and is required for all passenger ships that call at a US port. Conducted twice a year, the unannounced public health inspections and evaluate ships according to a number of categories including adherence to hygienic food handling, preparation and storage procedures; overall galley cleanliness; and the quality of the ship’s potable water supplies, shipboard personnel and the ship as a whole. Scores can range from 0 to 100.
Five other Holland America Line ships received perfect scores in 2016 including Maasdam, Veendam, Noordam, Eurodam and Westerdam. Four ships earned scores of 99, including Nieuw Amsterdam. Eurodam was the first ship in company history to receive 10 consecutive perfect USPH scores when she was inspected last March.