Maritime union said the requirement for ships to ‘self-declare’ illness was ‘woefully inadequate’ 50 days before Ruby Princess allowed to offload sick passengers in Sydney

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

The New South Wales Port Authority ignored warnings in January of the need for tighter biosecurity checks, the Maritime Union of Australia says.

In an email seen by Guardian Australia, MUA secretary Paul Garrett warned the NSW Port Authority chief executive, Philip Holliday, that ship captains could not be relied upon to self-disclose illnesses on board.

“There is a gaping hole in Australia’s biosecurity network due to the failure to implement adequate checks for coronavirus infections on vessels arriving at Australian ports,” Garrett wrote.

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“The requirement for merchant ships to ‘self-declare’ via the pre-arrival report is woefully inadequate when dealing with the potential of biosecurity risks. Any accurate diagnosis of a virus like the coronavirus is left to medically untrained seafarers as well as ships masters who simply would not be familiar with the symptoms and diagnosis of coronavirus.”

Garrett told ABC radio on Thursday this warning was “basically ignored”.

This email was sent on the 29 January, 50 days before the Ruby Princess was allowed to offload sick passengers in Sydney.

At least 166 Covid-19 cases have been linked to the ship.

As the crisis has progressed, and cruise liners announced a halting of services, many cruise ships have been left with nowhere to go once they offload passengers.

There are now dozens of ships sitting off the coast of Australia, including 11 docked in Sydney Harbour or anchored off Sydney and Wollongong, leaving crews stranded indefinitely, with little information available on how many have already been infected.

“They are captured on board that ship and their opportunities to come home, even after their contracts have ended are very limited,” said Dean Summers, the national coordinator for the International Transport Workers’ Federation.

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“Our main concerns are ensuring that they are fed, that they have medical treatment and that they are paid,” he said.

The majority of cruise ships crew are recruited from developing nations such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India.

Among the ships are the Ruby Princess, Voyager of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas and Celebrity Solstice, all of which have recorded positive Covid-19 among its passengers.

The Martine Union of Australia said the numbers of crews on these vessels was likely in the thousands, and ships are know to be rapid incubators of coronavirus.

The union said the Australian government needed to be doing more to ensure crew members were safe.

“NSW health, border force, biosecurity whichever is the responsible state and federal government agency, go and get on board those ships, go and check the crew members out now, do it today … make sure they are healthy,” Garret told ABC radio.

“If they are unwell let’s get them off and give them the healthcare they need.”

Summers said the International Transport Workers’ Federation had not yet been contacted by any crew members off the coast of Australia, however, he added it may be difficult for crew members to complain if they are being mistreated.

“Ship owners deliberately choose their seafarers from developing nations because they are low paid.

“I’ve had crews off a merchant ship, if they complain, to the authorities, it’s quite often the case when that ship comes back around that crew is gone and another nationality has replaced them.”

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On Thursday the New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that no cruise ship passengers would be allowed to disembark in the state until stricter protocols were enacted.

“Let me be clear that the federal and state governments are working closely together to confirm the new stringent protocols. I can also confirm no one will be allowed to leave any of these cruise ships until we have settled on the agreed new measures,” she said.

The Voyager of the Seas, currently off the coast of Wollongong, docked in Sydney on 18 March and seven passengers have so far tested positive for Covid-19. The Ovation of the Seas docked in Sydney on 14 March and has so far been linked to 13 cases.



The Spectrum of the Seas, the Sun Princess and the Pacific Explorer remain in Sydney Harbour as of Thursday, with no confirmed cases.



In Western Australia, seven passengers on the Artania off the coast of Fremantle have tested positive for the virus, with a total of 25 passengers and crew showing respiratory symptoms. Meanwhile, 800 Australians on the Vasco da Gama cruise ship will be quarantined on Rottnest Island after the government gave it permission to dock in Fremantle on Friday.



Also off the coast of WA, the Magnifica cruise ship was allowed to refuel in Fremantle, but was refused permission to dock, after premier Mark McGowan said on Monday that more than 250 passengers on board had upper respiratory illnesses.



Around the country, the Golden Princess and Viking Orion remain off the coast of Melbourne, the Queen Elizabeth off Gladstone, the Pacific Dawn is docked in Brisbane, and the Carnival Splendour, Radiance of the Seas, Sea Princess, Ruby Princess, Celebrity Solstice and Carnival Spirit all remain off the coast of NSW.

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The NSW Port Authority and the Cruise Lines International Association have yet responded to Guardian Australia’s request for comment.

The NSW premier’s office did not respond to questions relating to how the government would assist sick crew members.



