The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is said to be lacking the resources to continue any cruise ship health inspections under its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).
Multiple sources told Cruise Industry News the U.S. agency saw significant layoffs earlier this week in its Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, which oversees the VSP.
The VSP was put in place to inspect health standards on cruise ships, issuing a very public score on how well ships are operating and maintaining public health standards across eight areas. It also monitors data on illnesses onboard and responded to outbreaks.
The layoffs have said to have left the VSP in place, but without the appropriate staff to regularly inspect cruise ships that call in U.S. ports.
A comment for further clarification form the CDC was not returned.