Countries could continue to refuse to berth the Westerdam cruise ship carrying 2,257 people, citing unfounded fears of deadly COVID-19, until conditions on the luxury liner become so dire that it invokes an emergency.
The ship operated by Carnival Corp.'s Holland America Line could be forced to wait until it's in distress — running out of water, food or fuel — before international law-of-the-sea conventions kick in and legally obligate the closest country to admit the vessel or provide help, according to maritime experts.
"The countries are all passing the buck until it lands in the lap of someone who has to take the ship because the ship's run out of fuel or food," said Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a professor of transit geography at Hofstra University in New York. "When the ship is in distress, the nearest port of call will be bound in this case to help. That's the law."