Read your feeds on social media, and you will find them filled with messages about the world standing together in a bid to fight COVID-19.
Corporates like banks and essential supply companies are hammering email inboxes with soothing words about being “here for you” in times of trouble.
It would appear none of those feelings extend to the sick and elderly if they happen to be on a cruise ship. The world’s governments – including Australia’s – have adopted the cruelest postures towards passengers whose only crime is to take a holiday on the sea and fall victim to a plague which has spread across the world.
It would appear that no-one knows what to do with them. Nor seeks a solution beyond blocking their disembarkation.
Right now, Australia believes some 3,000 passengers are trapped on cruise ships banned from ports around the world by government’s trying to placate increasingly hysterical public opinion. Some 14 ships are being held off the Australian coast.
We understand people are worried. They are right to be concerned. Many of the cases logged in Australia can be traced back to cruise ships.
But that doesn’t mean we should be inhumane.
Yesterday, Western Australia and New South Wales handed the problem to their police commissioners. Quite what happens next is anybody’s guess.
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan backflipped on a promise to allow Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ Vasco da Gama to dock in Fremantle and disembark 798 Australian and 109 New Zealand passengers, who have spent 13 straight days at sea.
Instead, they were to be disembarked on Rottnest Island for 14 days of quarantine, he said. The New Zealanders and crew could only leave the ship for direct flights home.
Now he has come up with a new plan: only Western Australians can go to Rottnest. The rest must stay on the ship. Even the Australians from other states and territories don’t know where they are going.
“We have seen what has happened in Sydney Harbour – it was a complete and utter disaster and I will not allow that to happen in WA.”
No-one on the ship is sick, and neither passengers nor crew have touched land in 14 days.
The German cruise ship Artania was anchored off Fremantle with 800 passengers on board. Mr McGowan suggested sending in the Royal Australian Navy.
The government has now relented as it became plain the virus has wreaked havoc on the ship.
Today, the position is that 12 have, or are suspected of having, COVID-19 and are being treated in Perth hospitals. Some 46 still on the ship have started to display coronavirus-like symptoms.
Thankfully, and this speaks well to a softening of attitudes, the ship has been allowed to land.
No-one is saying sick passengers should be allowed to disembark untreated or without quarantine. But they should be allowed to disembark under supervised conditions, tested and either quarantined or sent home.
Mr McGowan is right about Sydney. It was indeed a disaster.
The Ruby Princess debacle, in which 2,650 passengers were allowed to disembark even though 13 were being checked for coronavirus, would have been a farce were it not so serious.
The unseemly bickering between Border Protection, a Commonwealth body, and NSW Health is just an insult to the over 130 passengers who have since been tested positive to COVID-19. One, a 77-year-old lady, has died.
At least Premier Gladys Berejiklian had the good grace to admit: “All of us have to take responsibility.”
Ms Berejiklian has now halted all cruise calls, leaving three ships in limbo, until new procedures are in place.
A sensible course of action. Providing it is quick. New procedures should have been in place long ago.
Ms Berejiklian still has to deal with the thousands of crew, aboard ships riding at anchor off Port Kembla.
Meanwhile, in far flung places like South America, scores of Australian doctors aboard Hurtigruten’s Roald Amundsen are still waiting to fly home.
At least one line has got it right. Almost 300 passengers from the Norwegian Jewel have just arrived for quarantine in the Swissotel Sydney after serving out weeks drifting on an ocean of indecision. The line hired planes to bring them home.
They took responsibility and delivered a solution after government’s turned the Jewel away time and again.
How have we come to this? When did it become OK to treat cruise passengers, some elderly grandmothers and grandads, with such a lack of compassion.
The coming days and weeks will see us tested as never before. And the overarching message we need to carry with us in the dark times ahead is: be kind. It’s what makes us human.
The 1979 International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) Convention obliges states to ‘… ensure that assistance [is] provided to any person in distress at sea … regardless of the nationality or status of such a person or the circumstances in which that person is found’ (Chapter 2.1.10) and to ‘… provide for their initial medical or other needs, and deliver them to a place of safety’.
Perhaps one of the saddest stories I have read this week is of ships riding at anchor in New Zealand with only skeleton crew on board being stoned by local residents in speed boats fearing they had passengers on board with coronavirus.
In the words of New Zealand Cruise Association chair Debbie Summers: “This behaviour is breathtakingly wrong on so many levels I do not even know where to begin…. Crying out loud people get a grip and get on with your own self isolating.”
Ms Summers is calling it like it is. It’s time the rest of the cruise industry did the same.
Related Posts
-
A Spanish port is looking set to tighten rules on cruise capacity, limiting the number of passengers per day, or even lowering the number of terminals.
-
Eight passengers are stuck in Africa after missing their boarding time for Norwegian Dawn.
-
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has placed an order to build four of the largest cruise ships in the industry.
-
Cruise passengers will be hit with a higher tourist tax for staying less than 12 hours in the popular city of Barcelona.
Also after WA health officials tested and confirmed that there was indeed positive cases of Covid 19 on the Artania, (all who showed symptoms were tested and were removed off the ship straight away, as they did with all other future cases) this proved covid 19 was spreading on board but there is footage showing passengers were just not following any social distancing measures at all , just carelessly walking freely around the ship, so combine that with the sheer number of passengers on the ship and yes the Premier and all had every right to be pretty angry and very worried, it was potentially a catastrophic disaster just waiting to happen that would not only cause many deaths for those on the ship and also potentially on land due to the potential influx but it would also overrun our health system completely. That carelessness was unbelievable, yes the captain should have definitely implemented more quarantine measures but people on board knew about the positive cases and still acted in such a careless manner.. it’s what caused so many to become infected to begin with.. just complete utter disregard for each other’s safety and the captain was also not honest and still fessed up for everything..
More updated info on the situation
WA’s big problem gets bigger
On March 24, the MV Artania was Fremantle-bound for what was supposed to be nothing more than a refuelling stop.
A state of emergency had been declared by Premier Mark McGowan the week before, and unease over cruise ship arrivals was already high.
The Ruby Princess, which had docked in Sydney just days earlier, was already shaping up as the benchmark of what not to do with a passenger vessel during a global health emergency.
The following days during what the Premier referred to at the time as a “fiasco” involved ever-changing plans, pleas for Commonwealth assistance, and mercy flights home for more than 800 Artania passengers.
‘The safest thing would have been to stop the trip’
March 13 was a red letter day in terms of Australia’s pandemic timeline.
While the national tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country sat at just 156, it was on this day things really started to escalate.
What began with a few cautious announcements early in the morning ended with tens of thousands of events cancelled. For many it was the last day they worked from the office.
It was also the day 618 guests joined those already on board the Artania in Sydney.
The ship was still in harbour two days later when its operators were told South Pacific ports had been closed to cruise ships. Those aboard were given the opportunity to fly home, and 199 passengers disembarked on March 16.
At 7pm on March 18, the ship departed for Fremantle with 832 passengers and 515 crew on board.
The following week at sea, while Australians were adjusting to social distancing, self-isolating, and constantly sanitising their hands, Artania passengers were dining and socialising together, according to since-evacuated guests in an online chat forum.
A party went ahead even after it was known unwell patients were on board and passengers had been told to stay in their cabins.
Disgruntled passengers are now blaming Phoenix Reisen, with some calling the cruise ship operators “grossly negligent”, and others questioning why they were allowed to board prior to arriving in Western Australia at all.
“The safest thing would have been to stop the trip in Sydney,” one wrote.
“Without Phoenix we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Numerous requests for comment on why passengers were allowed to embark in Sydney and questions surrounding claims of negligence have been sent to Phoenix Reisen.
So far, no response has been received.
Docked and locked, the Artania stays
There are many mistakes and miss information reported in this obviously biased article.
Firstly, bans were put into place so anyone coming into WA from either sea land or air had to go into mandatory 2 week isolation at designated hotels or at Rottnest island no matter where they had come from etc, this isn’t a rule singling out cruise ship passengers this is unprecedented times and everyone is suffering while trying to do the right thing to actually protect one another. We were/are all in isolation/lockdown unless people need essentials (strictly only essentials) or if they were an essential worker. We are all literally giving up our entire freedom and livelihoods, all travel was banned unless it was essential, no leaving any of the 8 regions within WA let alone leaving WA and no leaving home unless it’s for something essential. We’ve all been cut off from loved ones and families for god knows how long so we can prevent the spread and save lives. Yet here you are talking as if it’s just your given right to still travel and cruise around without any care in the world.. it’s completely selfish to put so many lives at risk after knowing so many were being turned away from hospitals and left to die in Italy but nope apparently it’s your right to still holiday and then complain about it like cruise holidaymakers are the only ones suffering through this when we’re all suffering! the difference is that we decided to do the right right and put everyones safety above our own wants. Many have lost everything here in WA, in all of Australia, across the whole entire globe and many countries are not helping any cruise ships at all..
I really think some people need to open their eyes and realise what’s actually happening here and around the world… By the way we’re already at capacity in regards to facilities (like 5 star hotels that people are complaining about) that are holding people for mandatory isolation in WA.
We actually do not have enough resources to even treat an influx of Western Australians let alone so many foreign nationals on the Artania (even just the number of crew on board) who are at high risk of having covid 19, the other ship has been sorted and all western Australians are on Rottnest Island in quarantine while others were flown home but we have already been pushed to limits with the 53 cases from the Artania that are in hospital, our health system would literally collapse and many many more would literally die if we experience an influx like that but we still are treating them and providing the essential necessities to help.
The problem I see when looking at the reality of this situation is that people really need to stop being “Me me me”, we are all literally giving up so much, everyone’s lives have already been drastically changed, I think others need to start realising just how big of a change that is.
The cruise companies have broken the trust of so many and should be doing so much more than they are, I’d focus your frustration on them after everything they’ve done.., it’s disgusting that they didn’t do more to prevent this from happening.
.
Snippet of an update
“On March 28, when the WA government first started providing specific figures for Artania-related cases, there were nine being treated in Perth hospitals. There are now 53.”
.
Page 1 of The Weekend West says it all “The captain of a cruise ship docked at Fremantle has confessed to Premier Mark McGowan that at least 70 foreigners aboard have Covid19 symptoms.”
In my opinion our Premier has been vindicated.
P&O Australia have three cruise ships with crew on them only in Australian Waters P&O Australia cancelled a cruise from Singapore to Sydney on the Pacific Explorer (after drydock) because of COVID-19 and brought the cruise ship home to Sydney with crew on only and then did a 3 day cruise to Eden (which did not get to Eden) and now the crew that could not make it home are sitting on those ship waiting to be able to get home or at least start working with passengers again. I cannot see why these overseas ships have been able to cause so much chaos when P&O Cruises Australia have been playing by the rules and have not made a headline in the media.
Having been and still am an avid cruise person I agree with a lot of the comments made but also disagree with others.
When anyone goes on a cruise firstly should by law carry a legal medical clearance by their GP also a list of all meds taken to be allowed to embark. Come on people how hard is that. Also at the. Terminal you also fill out a health card, or supposed to,well not one person can tell me EVEY person does that 100% truthfully.
This may cause you a slight delay of boarding clearance but imho I feel each and every person has to be screened before (temperature etc).
I also know that ships are floating health risk BUt people again it’s down to one,s personal hygiene standards, clean people clean cruise
You people are heartless. I too was on a cruise but Idid not choose to merrily go on my way during an outbreak. That happened while I was already cruising. It was not a choice of mine to continue cruising, it was the captains. I did not have a say in whether we dock early. Do not blame the passengers , blame the cruise companies for not acting faster to bring the passengers home. Once on the ship, you are at the discretion of the captain and crew and the powers that be in head office. I am outraged at the way they handled the situation but I don’t accept any blame. That’s ludicrous!! I do blame the individual governments of the different nationalities on board as well. Instead of allowing passengers to disembark and make their way home by whatever means they could find, they should have sent planes to pick us up and bring us back home. Our ship was virus free and no one even had a sniffle on board for the 17 days we weren’t near land. It would have been the safest way to get us all home, rather than us sitting in various airports waiting for whatever flights we could get. Then if there was still doubt, you could have overseen everyone who returned and got off the plane, rather than a few now, a few later. So wise up people, don’t just say bravo, good for you for doing this. Find out all the facts first. As they say, walk a mile in their shoes first. We’ve been home for 5 days now and have been self isolating and still healthy. Be kind, the world needs it more than ever now!!!!
Australia and all Australian states, just like other overseas countries, have had emergency pandemic plans in place for many many years and each time a new threat has come along governments have updated them to take into account addressing new problems and new technology. If people were to understand them they would realise that all governments have very detailed powers under those plans which are in accord with legal obligations and rights for such disturbing times. The fact that we are such a mobile and travelling society nowadays has only exacerbated the problems with the current virus and potential infection. Let’s contain it while we can and avoid the consequences that were faced with Ebola, Spanish Flue and even the Black Plague over history. Some inconvenience now is far better than not being around to participate in theh future!
Rottnest is a beautiful holiday island resort where people could still isolate without being cooped up and where they will be taken care of away from the mainland.
I am glad our Premier has made this move, along with all the travel restrictions on the mainland itself. The majority of cases we have had and the deaths have all come from cruise ships. And I know its not the passengers fault for wanting to see and experience our wonderful world, but do they really want to be responsible for more deaths or at the very least make others sick unncessarily.
I have an 87 old mother alone and I am 3 hrs away and cannot go and take care of her. I have a daughter with 4 children and a mentally ill husband who is being evicted through no fault of their own with a realestate agent who does not know what compassion means, I have a son who cannot work because of the virus, so just remember everyone has a story and we are all in the same BOAT. Patience, compassion, and following the current rules set by the government will win the day. Rottnest is not a prison camp.
When did it become OK to get on a cruise ship when a global epidemic had been declared?
It is not practical to fill our hospitals and ICU with foreign citizens when we will need all of them in the weeks to come.
The cruise liners are at fault for putting money before health and not cancelling these trips. They had adequate time to reconsider and it is appalling that their health / cleaning standards have allowed this disease to spread.
Did the boats offer to pay for the millions of dollars it would cost to look after these people, no they didn’t.
I will never cruise again as time after time these ships have been unable to even stop the spread of gastro and yet they still went ahead and put all these passengers at risk .
Hope the passengers launch legal action for negligence against the operators.
You should not be on a cruise Patricia and Australians are allowed to disembark and must be quaranteed for 14 days on Rotto
When passengers board a cruise ship they are required to fill in a health declaration form. There is no check before they get on, though if an agent sees that they are sick they can be referred to medical staff for a check before boarding. Once on board passengers ill with a virus can spread it very quickly until it is contained. And it is contained. Ships do this very well when done properly. The problem is relying on people to cancel their trip and stay at home if they feel unwell. What should have been done back in January is that anyone departing or arriving in Australia should have been screened and had their temperature taken. That would have saved a lot of lives and a lot of angst and saved many of our jobs. The events unravelled so fast so please don’t blame passengers who were onboard cruise ships. Until mid March everything seemed ok.
Fake news Ship was refuelled and on its way Cruise lines can no longer be trusted Well done to state government I won’t be cruising again due to trust
On January 20th my wife and I went to Singapore, initially for a couple of days. We then boarded the Sapphire Princess, for a cruise to Malaysian ports. Then back to Singapore, and then on another cruise to Thailand ports, on the same ship. We sailed then to South Vietnam. We sailed back to Singapore, where we stayed until February 6th, before flying home. During the second cruise I got a slight cold. I visited the ships doctor, and was given the all clear. At that time the virus was only present in China, and on some Asian TV channels, there was a lot of publicity about the virus. There were a lot of Asians on board, and most of them were Chinese. A lot of them were wearing masks, at times. A lot more were wearing them when we disembarked in Singapore. We were lucky that we chose that particular cruise, and not the Diamond Princess, which took a different route, otherwise, we may have caught the virus on that ship. I think it is absolutely callous of the premiers of NSW, and WA to refuse entry for the ships. Surely they could have arranged quarantine, and testing of Australian and New Zealand passengers in some facility.It’s like they are being treated like criminals. I love cruising, for many reasons, but to be treated like that is absolutely appalling. As your writer said it goes against International law. People who have not been on a modern cruise ship don’t know what they are missing. In my opinion, it is the best way to have a holiday. As soon as the world gets through this virus crisis, we will be looking to cruise again, if we are still able.
Some of these cruise ship tourists knew about the Covid-19 before they got on the ships. Do I feel sorry for the ones who knew the risks? Absolutely not. Anyone with half a brain knows what the risk is when you get on a ship with 100’s of other people in a small area. They knew what the risk was. They look beautiful and I have heard great things about cruises but I have always felt that cruise ships were floating ‘petrie dishes’. I feel that the cruise industry will have a hard time recovering after this. I also saw footage on tv about the filthy cabins that looked like they had not been cleaned in years – absolutely disgusting!
Its typical that everyone has a whinge when its suits their own situation with total disregard for the larger population at hand. It is travellers bringing it in and 2/3 of those travellers have been on cruise ships-an obvious breeding ground for bacteria and virus. Most people understand but the ones still on ships appear to be ignorant of the situation, You are high risk Patricia Newell and also risking everyone now charged to solve your problem. You didnt create it but anyone that travelled knowing the virus was world wide should just clamp up. Cruiser beware.
I too applaud Mark McGowan for his stand. Like every other country with this problem- he is looking after his own people. One ship has only been on a 13 night cruise so feel you new the risk you were taking. People are not taking this seriously and if they don’t do so soon we will be another Italy.
As Ms Berejiklian has stopped cruise ships calling in NSW which are the 3 ships off the NSW coast with passengers on board. None that I know of.
The ships off the NSW coast only have crew on board. Not the responsibility of the NSW government.
It is unfortunate for the individuals involved but I completely disagree with the author of this article. The evidence of the risk posed by cruise passengers re-entering the community from an infected ship is damming. However, problems with the health and sanitation on cruise ships have been well known across the industry well before Covid-19 appeared. The failure to adequately address this problem is an issue the industry must now address if they are to maintain the confidence of their consumers and government authorities.
If the industry does not act, it will find governments stepping in to do it for them. There is a very good chance that after the pandemic ends Covid-19 and other virus will still remain active in the community and ships will remain high risk sources of transmission. I can see an enormous escalation in penalties for ships and the there captains if they land infected passengers. Further measures may also include mandatory quarantine periods for ships similar to the 20 day period implemented by the US during the 1832 Cholera epidemic.
There is another emerging issue that will impact the industry and it relates to Travel Insurance. LIfe insurers are already moving to exclude individuals who are more susceptible to Covid-19 including over 50’s and people with pre-existing conditions. It will not be long before these changes flow across to Travel Insurance impacting on premiums and availability. This will impact a significant section of the cruising community.
Sorry for them but all the Australians should be taken straight to Quarantine & the cruise ships should pay for charter aircraft to take the rest back to their home countries. They make big profits & must be able to afford it.
The debacle in Sydney letting nearly 3000 people loose to wander around (and they did) must never be allowed to happen again.
I congratulate Mark McGowan for his strong stance to safe guard West Australians. 25% of all confirmed corona virus cases here in WA can be directly linked to cruise ships. It is unfortunate that many other nationalities are on these cruise ships off our coast, but other governments need to stand up and help their own citizens. If we let one boat in, many will follow. We cannot afford to be complacent at this dificult time.
Excellent suggestion. Send the cruise ships back to their homeport.
Our rates of infection are rapidly increasing.
To avoid being another Italy, NO passengers should be allowed off.
In the future, should quarantined Australia travellers, prove to be 100% clear,
then and only then, should consideration be given to their acceptance back into the community in Australia.
It is only reasonable that travellers returning to Australia conform to protect the rest of us.
Comments, that residents of Australia are “nasty and lacking compassion” do little to help our current situation. What they do is to
show there is an element of inconsideration, lack of understanding, entitlement, stupidity and selfishness among a very small number of the elite.
Wow-what a blame game response to a never seen before this international crisis.
history has shown us that laws such as maritime laws come second or third to other laws in times of war or plague. Governments job is to protect the safety, welfare, and health of its citizens. During an economic collapse, there were much more than 3000 suicides, let alone in a plague (which technically is a specific pandemic so we should just use the term biological pandemic). looking at some of the worst affected countries, we do not want our citizens that die to be dumped in mass graves with no proper funeral or lasting grave for relatives. Being stuck on a ship is no doubt stressful but a lot less stressful than being in critical care, or fear for our loved ones. Now anyone apportioning blame to passengers is way off the mark. when boarding the ships they were in a position of after paying good money and not being able to get refunds including from insurance companies unless the trip is canceled. the blame goes to 2 bodies, the cruise lines, and the vacation insurance industry as both had the foresight and knowledge beyond what a passenger has, but greed got in the way. Finally to the remarks that Australia may see cruise lines shun our ports. Ludicrous These ships are staying in Australian waters because they are getting better treatment here than say Dubai.
Cruise ships in Australia have been responsible for a large portion of the infections coming into Australia. The policies seem quite reasonable and are actually pretty much the same as every other country around the world. Why isn’t the article calling out the US? New Zealand? and all the rest that also refuse to have them land? I love cruising, but honestly people that decided to go ahead with cruises in march really need to take some responsibility for the situation. The mistakes from the cruise ship that stopped in sydney where the majority IGNORED the self isolation and allowed 250+ infected into the country need to prevented. It has to be mandatory detention/quarantine now.
Going on a cruise ship always entails being exposed to a higher risk of infection than in normal life. Norovirus and respiratory infections are at the top of the list.
Returning to Australia from a cruise in my opinion has always been too casual. Unlike many other countries there is little to no primary health screening. Covid 19 infections coming from cruise ships has proven permanent primary screening needs to happen.
In a pandemic, citizen or not, the government has the power to make and enforce laws that determine who enters our country no matter what conventions are in place. Protect the majority.
Why go on a cruise while this virus is around people
West Australians should be thankful that McGowan is doing this step to protect our people
They should be thankful there going to Rottnest instead of Christmas Island
So the people on this cruise ship be thankful for where you are going it’s only for 14days
One thing this Covid-19 has shown: The nastiness and lack of compassion shown by many Australians. It is not a crime to go on a cruise for a holiday. “There but for the grace of God go I.” It could happen to any one of us, anywhere!
It’s very simple send the ships back to their home port and then the cruise ship puts them in a quarantine hotel for 2 weeks then they can send them home. The cruise ships took Ownership of them when they took their money & set sail. It is NOT Australia’s fault that no other country will let them disembark.
to the author of this article – maybe you need to think about individuals taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions. The virus issue has been well and truly known about since late February 2020. Anyone who took a cruise after that needs to think about why they made that decision. The cruise companies that have kept the ships at sea for the last 2-3 weeks also need to take ownership of this problem. They have had plenty of time to recall the ships and passengers to port, instead they have been completely selfish and ignored all the news and alert updates. Of course there is now a humanitarian issue to consider which is being dealt with today.
Why should people who chose not to travel and are looking after their health be compromised. The people on the cruises are now putting people at risk in Australia as they are coming back sick. Isolation on an island seems most appropriate. We’ve known about this virus since The end of Jan. They shouldn’t have gone on the cruise
Disappointing that the cruise holiday has come to a less than ideal ending.
However, consider this.
The majority of infections is sourced through cruise ships and people travelling and returning to Australia.
Every arrival is a major risk to the population, particularly the immune deficient and the elderly.
It must be mandatory that all travellers returning to Australia or attempting to enter Australia should be kept on ships or returned to their homeland.
Coronavirus is not a new thing. If you made the choice to go on an overseas
holiday in the past 2-3 months you must suffer the consequences.
Many thousands in Australia have no money, no employment and will
probably lose their homes or accommodation.
Please do not complain about a plight over which you had control. If you made a bad choice, accept it.
They should not have gone on a cruise and have to accept the consequences until safe alternatives are found. Obviously nobody likes having to leave them on ships.
Your statement “Mr McGowan’s callous disregard for these passengers . . .” is disgraceful. Mr McGowan has placed the safety of the people of WA ahead of a handful of cruise ship passengers and I, for one, completely agree with his stance. A great many of the sickness and deaths from Covid-19 have been cruise
passengers If a poll on the subject was taken among West Australians right now I have no doubt whatsoever that the overwhelming consensus would be that Mr McGowan showed the kind of resolve that we expect from our Premier and Government. The only people likely to disagree are those with a rusted-on support for the opposition party.
Our PM just announced from 11.59pm Saturday night all arrivals in Australia will go into mandatory 14 quarantine in the city of arrival. Quarantine will be in hotels.
A few answers please. When did these people board these Cruises? The Magnificia has already been refuelled once at Fremantle and was on its way to Dubai, but they refused to allow it to dock. First of all , all of these people should have to serve a 14 day quarantine somewhere first before we put airline staff at risk. I have enjoyed many Cruises, but i don’t think that this situation comes under the 1979 International Convention. I
Our borders are closed. Many people on these cruises, both abroad and locally, knew there were escalating risks before they went. Those risks have now been realised. Sydney was a debacle and that state may suffer further with a full lockdown the likely result. Ships should not be allowed to land passengers except in supervised situations. Any Australians on board must go into mandatory quarantine in a secure situation (such as Rottnest Island in WA). No excuses. Self-imposed quarantine is an absolute farce with a number breaking the rules and several attending parties after arriving back from overseas. Nationals from other countries could be flown directly back home on flights chartered by their respective governments, again, taken to airports under strict supervision.
The Cruise company should shoulder the responsibility of your health and safety primarily. As a matter of fact cruise ships should even be operating at this time with the virus spreading so quickly. Maritime law might take care of the critical cases but why should the Australian people have to paid your Accommodation & food during quarantine plus your flight home. You take a cheap cruise you wear the additional expenses and consequences.
Do they even have the Constitutional right to prevent Australian citizens entering there own country? Do not citizens have the constitutional right of free movement?
Thanks Jean
I applaud the actions taken by our Premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan, while I appreciate many of us had concerns regarding these unfortunate people with health issues. However, Mark represents the 2.6million people in WA, He is a very compassionate family man. He has worked tirelessly under the current pandemic situation. You cant just have 3000 people walking the streets of Fremantle and Perth at any costs when we are almost in total lockdown.
The Artania docked at Fremantle last night.
The MSC ship was reprovisioned and refuelled and left Fremantle. Immediately UAE denied it docking. So they have stayed off the WA coast. To say it was denied refuelling is incorrect.
They need quarantine, people not from Australia need to directly leave the country for there home country.
We can offer all assistance to get them there, but not % never risk more infections in Australia.
Yes it is difficult with airlines not flying, but they are looked after by the cruise line, doctors on board, meals, etc.. they have to wait until appropriate transport us available.
We have Australians screaming for help from around the world, these people need to scream to their government not ours.
Why not take them to Christmas Island for 14 days then when cleared get their home countries to fly in and pick them up. Also I would be interested to know when these cruise ships first set sail. Was it after the virus started? If so, the cruise company should be held fully accountable and fined.
Well it does seem unfair when travellers have already been allowed to land in Darwin and go to an isolation camp/ disused mining camp, there must be many such facilities that could be used and medical staff to monitor the health of these people. I do understand the 14 day isolation, other countries have gone in to lock down, like the UK even in small villages where there are no known cases. It is always wise to err on the side of caution and the governments position is demonstrated by the wedding party on the sunshine coast that has created a problem with quite a few diagnosed cases. These people left after the wedding and went to many locations. Who would be complaining if they contracted this terrible disease from one of these poor people who now has this problem.
Yes this could and can be handled better. All the passengers and crew should be offered this sanctuary of an isolation community with observers and monitoring for at least 14 days. Then being cleared allowed to finish transit to their home lands. That is the least that Australian government representatives should be doing.
Fair points in part. Though the reference to the NSW premier saying ” Gladys Berejiklian had the good grace to admit: “All of us have to take responsibility.” The NSW Government has admitted blame. ”
was incorrect as it was actually the opposite. She responded with that when questions were being asked of NSW Health who gave health clearance, to try to deflect blame to Border Force. She didn’t accept any blame in that – even though it does rightly sit with her department.
All departments had a part to play – but that doesn’t mean they cover the same responsibilities. Each department would push back if say Border Force tried to tell health what to do so while they all have parts to play that doesn’t mean they have the same areas of oversight nor share those responsibilities. This was a failing of NSW Health.
The WA Premier has been a disgrace and is not doing his job – governing for the people. He’s just jawboning for political opportunism – reckless and uncaring.
You are wrong, the MSC Magnifica is refueled.
3000 vs 2.6 million WA population
Thank you Mr Mark McGowan for protecting the Western Australian.
Well said Lisa. No cruise ship passengers, in fact no persons arriving from international or interstate destinations by any method of travel, should be allowed in without first being checked for COVID-19. If the tests are negative, straight into 14 days of self isolation. If positive, quarantined until negative. Continuing to spread Coronavirus through laziness or apathy or slack procedures cannot be allowed to continue. Peoples lives are at risk.
How long have they been on the ship?
Why did they go on the ship?
Let’s go on our trip and worry about the consequences
When we return. Hope it was worth it.
The answer would be for all cruise companies to abandon Australia and New Zealand in the future. Once that is in train both countries would be screaming out of the other side of their mouths about loss of tourism and money.
It is really pathetic why the cruise ships are being blamed when they are a very small part of the problem
Only cruisers and their families are objecting to the control measures mandated by the govt. The rest of us are applauding after watching the Sydney debacle unfold.
Everyone else thinks its the right thing to do.!
Its just bad luck… desperate times.. desperate measures.
I agree with Peter. We have left thousands of people, no matter what nationality, to virtually “rot” at sea. Come on Governments where ever you are, help these people out It is not their fault. I am sure that if any member of the Government had a relative onboard something would be done quick smart.
I disagree with this article and we need to look at the bigger picture rather than just 3000 people, the government has to look after everyone and their interests and that’s no easy feat.
Often tough decisions needs to be made to contain the pandemic. Passengers everywhere in the world needs to understand the risks they are putting themselves in when they travel, it’s their responsibility to acknowledge those risks and understand the added risk they pose to everyone and not just themselves.
It’s un-Australian when people only care for themselves.
Get a grip on reality. These ships cannot be allowed to dock in Australian ports without some completely safe medical procedures in place! The passengers cannot be allowed to disembark without these safeguards!
Anyone who willingly boarded a cruise ship in the last 3 weeks should be forced to stay onboard no matter what, until this is over.
Well said, Peter. Thank you for this vital perspective. May God have mercy on us all.
This is not a matter for Border Force, so please correct that. And with regard the Sydney debacle, the responsibility lies directly, and wholly, with the NSW Government. Being an avid cruiser, I am sure that I don’t have to tell you just what an incubator cruise ships are. I also shouldn’t have to tell you that the concerns are now for four weeks, not two. And, I also shouldn’t have to tell you that many could have the virus and be asymptomatic carriers. I’ll let you work that out.
I, for one, am grateful that the ships are staying away from mainland ports. At least until alternatives are provided
Unfortunately, this is just another case of unsubstantiated and opinion-based reporting .
That is appalling, I too am on a cruise ship off South America They are Australians in Australian waters what is the problem? Why canTthey be flown back to their states