Quarantine flag

There is no signal in the International Code of Signals for ‘ quarantine ’ ( indeed the word ‘ quarantine ’ does not appear in the code ). today ships bespeak either ‘ My vessel is “ healthy ” and I request free pratique ’ with a single Q ( Quebec ) flag or ‘ I require health clearance ’ with the bivalent signal QQ ( Quebec Quebec ). Either is correct for a vessel however to be cleared for pratique ( pratique is license to do business at a port, granted to a ship that has met quarantine or other health regulations ). The Q ( Quebec ) flag is squarely in supreme headquarters allied powers europe and pure yellow. Continuing to fly either of these signals indicates a vessel is yet to receive headroom ( and is frankincense effectively in quarantine ). Once the local authorities have determined that the ship ’ s health problems have been resolved and removed a quarantine decree, the ship may strike the bespeak and raise the national ensign for the port they are entering.

In years gone by, editions of the International Code of Signals ( ICOS ) did contain signals for vessels that suspected they harbored, or could be harboring, contagious diseases. In Brown ’ randomness 1916 version the L ( Lima ) flag ( black and yellow squares ) signified ‘ I have or had some dangerous, infectious disease on board. ’ And this mean was continued in the 1923 and 1931 editions. When the ICOS was radically overhauled in 1965 to recognize the then-widespread habit of radio receiver communications ( relatively rare when the earlier editions were published ) the ICOS shrink from a about 600 page tome to a relatively lissome 160 pages, and the think of of the L ( Lima ) flag was simplified to mean only ‘ You should stop your vessel instantaneously ’ to eliminate any possible confusion. This think of has persisted through current versions. Mariners can find a copy of the current ( 1969, revised 2003 ) edition of the ICOS for free download here.

In an interest nod to past practice, some local ordinances were enacted to re-use the old meaning of the Lima flag for the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, notably in Alaska and Newport, R.I.

The concept of quarantine is ancient and is mentioned in the Old Testament. The condition itself is derived from the practice of the city state of Venice during the Middle Ages of requiring ships arriving from locations known to being experiencing diseases such as the plague to anchor or moor off the interface for 40 days ( quaranta giorni ) so that any disease on board might run its course. The practice of quarantine has varied over the centuries, but the concept of protecting the public health by restricting the movements of individuals who are suspected of possibly harboring dangerous disease has remained changeless.

The World Health Organization ( WHO ) provides guidelines on how and when quarantine should be used, but its actual implementation is left to the discretion of individual nations. In the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) administers the federal quarantine program, but the freestanding states and local communities besides have broad powers. Ships arriving in a US port with serious disease on board are required to provide boost presentment. The ship may be required to undertake sealed sanitary measures and to exercise diverse controls over all persons on board to prevent them from serving as disease vectors potentially infecting the local populace. The closest we have come recently ( pre-COVID-19 ) to a general quarantine affecting the maritime diligence was during the 2002 SARS epidemic, which heavily impacted southeast Asia. The COVID-19 pandemic, declared March 11 2020 was the first to have in truth widespread impact. A future pandemic, whether the result of avian influenza or differently, may see far-flung execution of quarantine measures.

( This article was primitively published on January 6, 2012, but was updated on July 13, 2020 )