A cruise ship company in New Zealand has apologised after its staff dressed up in wildly inaccurate Māori costumes and painted their faces to perform a traditional pōwhiri, or welcome ceremony, for international guests.

The incident, in the Port of Tauranga on Monday morning, was captured on video and showed a group of men, who did not appear to be Māori, dancing in “grass” skirts with black markings drawn on their faces and bodies. One of the ship’s photographers captured the moment.

Princess Cruises said in a statement titled “unreserved apology for cultural insensitivity” that the company took “immediate steps to address this sensitive situation”.

It confirmed that the performers were staff from the Golden Princess ship.

“After being made aware of the situation, the ship’s management team took action to withdraw the ship photographers from the area to prevent any further possibility of cultural insensitivity,” Princess Cruises said in a statement.

“We give a complete assurance that no offence was ever intended and we apologise unreservedly for what has happened.”

Photos — reportedly taken this morning — show Tauranga cruise ship guests having photos taken with several non-Māori men in crude skirts with "scribbles" across their faces.https://t.co/4USaEPcwak — nzherald (@nzherald) December 2, 2019

The incident has been condemned as culturally insensitive.

“Unfortunately we still see some return back to these stereotypical and obviously racist tropes,” said Tina Ngata, an advocate for sustainability and indigenous rights. “There really isn’t any excuse now in the age of information for people to still do this. Other than that they are being lazy in a way that is racist. It says that indigenous groups are not worth the effort.”

The Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive, Paora Stanley, told the New Zealand Herald he was shocked by the photos of the performers. “Our plea to the cruise liner is, just stop. Think about what you are doing,” Stanley said.

Tauranga’s mayor, Tenby Powell, told Stuff he had received numerous calls about the incident which he said had sparked “very, very genuine concerns”.

“If the facts are as I understand this shows a complete lack of cultural awareness,” he said.