Services

Implementing Effective Public Health Compliance Initiatives

Implementing Effective Public Health Compliance Initiatives

At Anchor Hygiene Services Ltd., we are committed to providing reliable public health compliance solutions for all of our clients. We conduct training sessions, inspections, and programs that are geared toward improving the public health measures of companies, thereby minimising risks and protecting your employees and customers from health hazards.

Our company was established in 2013 by Iain Hay. He has been providing consulting services for the cruise industry for more than twenty years.

We are highly experienced in offering onboard and shoreside training for management and crew members of all ranks and nationalities. Training for Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) 2011, EU SHIPSAN, and UK Ofqual Food Safety (levels 1 to 4) are offered and may be tailored to meet your specific operational needs.

Our team conducts operational USPH-style inspections and provide on-the-job support for ships’ personnel in preparation for public health inspections worldwide. Ideally, all ships are advised to conduct quarterly external public health compliance reviews. For vessels that are operating away from the United States for extended periods, it is advantageous for ship operators to have a periodic professional assessment of their day-to-day public health operation. This may be scored using the same criteria and system as the United States CDC Vessel Sanitation Program to achieve consistency.

All ship or shoreside facility inspections are followed up with a detailed report giving recommendations on how to correct or improve upon observations noted. Our inspection reports are not designed to be a tool to admonish. Rather, they are constructive and help the management to continually improve.

Public health inspections and reviews for ships operating in Australia, Brazil, Canada, continental Europe, and the UK are also offered to ensure compliance with local public health authority regulations in those regions. Inspections and advice are offered in all of the following areas:

  • Acute gastrointestinal illness surveillance (medical)
  • Food safety (integrated pest management, housekeeping, and inspection of HVAC systems, fountains, misting systems, humidifiers, showers, and child activity centres, including baby changing facilities)
  • Outbreak prevention planning
  • Outbreak resolution services
  • Potable water systems (including backflow prevention and protection against legionella)
  • Recreational water facilities
  • Ship construction and refurbishment guidelines (USPH standard)

Shoreside facility inspections are also offered on behalf of cruise ship operators, such as:

  • Food operations (food, beverage, and equipment shoreside storage and transportation facilities)
  • Out island food and beverage operations
  • Shoreside restaurants and bars recommended by the ship or visited during cruise organised shore excursions)

Please note that when inspections are required to be performed at premises or facilities not owned or operated by the cruise operator it is the cruise operator’s responsibility to make the arrangements to secure access and ensure co-operation by third party personnel.

We offer escorted repatriation of sick or injured personnel from ships or hospitals to their home countries. Anchor Hygiene Services Ltd. can provide medical professionals to accompany the repatriation of crew members on request. For more details, call us today or send us an email.

Our team offers guidance on how to optimise the effectiveness of existing outbreak prevention and response systems. In outbreak situations, we provide invaluable support in assisting the ship’s management to eliminate the spread of viruses or bacteria by offering guidance and supervision of effective and proven outbreak resolution protocols, overseeing operations, and giving hands-on support to the management, medical, and operations teams.

We conduct detailed inspections during construction and ship refurbishments or immediately prior to operation and/or a VSP construction inspection. It is also a good idea to hire one of our professionals during VSP construction inspections and to follow up on the findings.

Clients We Have Worked With

  • AIDA Kreuzfahrten
  • Azamara Club Cruises
  • Carnival Maritime GmbH
  • Celebrity Cruises
  • Celebrity Xpedition
  • Costa Crociere
  • Enterprises Shipping and Trading
  • EU SHIPSAN (Training Port Health Inspectors on Cruise Ship Inspection Technique)
  • FleetPro Inc
  • Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
  • Global Maritime Services Ltd (MV Marco Polo)
  • Grand Circle Cruise Line
  • Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten (Sea Chefs Cruises Ltd)
  • Hurtigruten A/S
  • Ibero Cruceros
  • Johnson Controls Systems and Services (Air-Conditioning)
  • Meyer Werft GmbH (Ship Builders)
  • Mystic Cruises
  • Pullmantur Cruceros
  • Reederei Peter Deilmann Kreuzfahrten
  • Residence At Sea
  • Royal Caribbean International
  • Saga Cruise Line
  • Scenic Ocean Cruises
  • Silversea Cruises
  • STX Europe (Ship Builders)
  • Swann Hellenic Cruise Line
  • Trimline Ltd (Ship Interior Designers)
  • Tui Kreuzfahrten (Mein Schiff Kreuzfahrten)
  • The Yachts of Seabourn
  • Viking Ocean Cruises
  • V. Ships (Leisure) Services
  • Voyages of Discovery
  • Windstar Cruises

Captain Jaret T. Ames

Chief, CDC Vessel Sanitation Program

This letter is to provide my professional opinion on the qualifications and work experience of Mr. lain Hay. My history with Mr. Hay stretches back to 1998 when I was the Assistant Deputy Chief of the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program and managing our Ft. Lauderdale, FL office. He was a Hotel Director with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in that period, so our interactions were initially related only to my inspection visits to ships where he was assigned. I can recall that even then lain was unique in his interest in public health. He was not then or ever interested strictly in what was required; rather, he had a keen interest in what the requirement was based on or what it was intended to prevent. I found this a refreshing view and came to find that Mr. Hay was one of the few managers onboard who was really trying to better understand the public health requirements for the express purpose of finding the best way to incorporate them into the existing structure and pattern of the ships operations.

He was an obvious choice as Fleet Public Health Officer and from that point forward we had regular communications regarding all aspects of the VSP, whether it was a problem identified in an inspection, our training program, construction elements, or in outbreak investigations. My impression throughout these many years was of a professional above all else. Mr. Hay worked well with others onboard and positively impacted the corporate policies, given his opportunity to review what did and did not work operationally. He continued to work with the VSP to improve the understanding onboard of the reasons for the requirements and initiated problem solving to achieve effective compliance.

Mr. Hay never hesitated to advise me or my staff when he felt strongly on an issue of public health or the need to challenge our program. His approach always had the signature of being professional and well thought out. Mr. Hay brings strong field and managerial skills to any organization, but I find his ability to apply his experience in a way which impacts onboard operations gives him a distinct advantage.

As the current Chief of the Vessel Sanitation Program I feel confident in recommending Ian Hay to any similar managerial or operational public health position where he is involved with hotel or cruise ship operations. His knowledge and applied skills in critical elements such as prevention, training, onboard inspection, and outbreak response would be hard to duplicate.

celeb

Michael Bayley

President and CEO, Celebrity Cruises Inc.

Iain Hay reported to me in his capacity as Hotel Director when I was Senior Vice President for operations at Royal Caribbean International. He also assisted in public health crises aboard Island Escape while I was Managing Director for Island Cruises Ltd.

Iain is a dedicated public health expert who is entirely self-motivated and who, through his strong inter-personal skills, is well respected aboard the many ships he has served and by public health authorities around the world.

Iain travelled throughout the 21-ship RCCL ship fleet for 8-years and was the most successful of all the travelling positions throughout that time, consistently achieving exceptional results without ever losing the respect and cooperation of the crew or sight of the company’s goals.

I would not hesitate to recommend Anchor Hygiene Services Ltd., under Iain’s direction, to provide public health support to any cruise operator. Indeed, we are currently actively using the services of AHS across the Royal Caribbean family of cruise lines.

royal

Adam M. Goldstein

President & CEO, Royal Caribbean International

Iain Hay was employed in the Royal Caribbean International fleet for 11 years as an F&B Manager and Hotel Director. From the past 4 years Iain has been providing public health independent consulting work to ships in the RCL fleet. Iain is a dedicated professional who is very knowledgeable in the public health field and is highly respected by our shipboard management. We are very pleased with Iain’s contribution to our public health program.

Manny Rivas

We are very pleased to use Anchor Hygiene Services for public health consultancy. Their managing Director, Iain Hay, has been providing public health inspections and classroom-style training for our shipboard crewmembers in the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, SkySea, Pullmantur Cruceros and Tui Cruises fleets for the past ten years. Iain is a hard working professional with very good communication skills and is very familiar with the present public health international regulations. We are very happy with the quality of his work.

apollo

Steve Furness

Vice President of Operations, Apollo Ship Chandlers Inc

Iain Hay is a solid professional with excellent knowledge in the Public Health and Environmental field. I would not hesitate to recommend his service. In addition, Iain Hay is very good at training and passing on his knowledge to line employees and management.

princess

Karin Luppes

Hotel General Manager, Princess Cruises

For many years I had the pleasure to be working with Iain at Royal Caribbean International. He is a dedicated professional with extensive managerial experience in the cruise industry. His knowledge of public health and food safety is unprecedented and Iain is always willing to share his wealth of knowledge and experience. His communication skills are excellent and he is well respected by crew, staff and officers. Iain is an integer individual with high ethical standards who would be an asset to any company needing his expertise, experience and work ethics.

reston

Gerhard Baur C.E.C. C.G.C.

Director for Culinary Management, Treston International College, Manila

I have known Mr. Iain Hay of Anchor Hygiene Services Ltd for many years while working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. His Position at the time was Hotel Director/Fleet Public Health Officer. He would conduct periodic inspections on board all of the company’s 21 vessels.

Mr Hay has amazing knowledge in both Hotel and Food Safety Industries and never failed to answer a single question regarding either. He has an amazing ability to answer questions in a simple and easy to understand manner and then elaborate on it when deemed necessary. He is very much at home educating teams of Hotel and Service Industry professionals from around world as well as those from many other professionals whose work is directly or indirectly related to Food.

He also assisted me with the design, set-up and operation of our new Culinary and Hotel Management College (Treston International College) in Manila, Philippines. His advice helped us to set up facilities that are truly world class and conform to the toughest international food safety standards in the Country.

Overall I would highly recommend Mr. Hay and Anchor Hygiene Services to anyone, anywhere in the world, in need of Food Safety Solutions from training to execution to follow up, as he will always deliver on what he promises.