Princess Cruises yesterday welcomed the outcome of a New Zealand Customs’ inquiry into Ruby Princess’s visit to the country in March 2020 which found the company and crew had no knowledge that COVID was on board.
The announcement means no action will be taken against the ship’s crew or any of the entities involved in the visit, said a Carnival Australia spokesperson.
A police investigation into what happened when the ship docked in Sydney several days later is believed to be still ongoing, though the line was totally exonerated by a special commission of inquiry which largely blamed health officials for the hasty evacuation of the ship.
Twenty-eight people died as a result of the ship’s COVID-19 outbreak and more than 700 were infected in Australia. It is believed the ship may have been responsible for the spread of the virus to 24 people in New Zealand.
The Carnival Australia statement said: “We also understand NZ Customs concluded that the ship’s staff were unaware that COVID could already have been onboard at the time. A copy of Customs’ report is being sought which we will study in further detail.
“The overall result of the inquiry is of great importance to us because it confirms the integrity and professionalism of our people and that, as an organisation, we have always sought to cooperate honestly and professionally with government officials in accordance with the regulatory environment.
“Our overriding objective is to ensure cruising is a safe and enjoyable pastime for the many thousands of people who value cruise holidays and we look forward to our ships ultimately being able to return to New Zealand supported by comprehensive health protocols including vaccination requirements for guests and crew.”
The NZ Customs Service released the findings of a 20-month investigation to the local website Stuff under the Official Information Act.
The investigation concluded the virus was probably on board when the ship arrived in New Zealand – one passenger had the virus but didn’t report the symptoms – but, according to Stuff, “this investigation has found no evidence of the crew, agent, or anyone else connected with the Ruby Princess being aware of a Covid-19 infection prior to arrival in New Zealand”.
The Ruby Princess had 2,761 passengers and 1,146 crew on board when it sailed for Milford Sound, Dunedin, Akaroa, Welling and Napier on March 9.
Customs investigators said, according to Stuff, that the ship’s staff knew six people who were ill before the ship arrived in New Zealand, but the symptoms did not match those of COVID-19.
In Wellington, five passengers were tested for COVID-19 and none were found to be infected.
Cruise Passenger asked NSW Police today if it intends to continue its investigation. A spokesman said the investigation was “still ongoing” and there were no further updates.
Very pleasing to note that finally some sense has come out of the ‘Ruby Princess’ debacle, at least as far as NZ is concerned.
We must congratulate Princess Cruises on their part as the sanitary standards onboard, even pre-Covid where always up to scratch from our experience.
How disappointing is this news. Australia has opened up international boarders yet still holds back on freeing up the local cruise industry. I cannot fathom their thinking, in one breath they say that we have to live with Covid and resume normal living without government restrictions and the next breath they are adding further restrictions.
The cruise lines seem to have protocols in place to be able to operate to the health authorities recommendations yet are still grounded by dumb government decisions.
The industry creates thousands of associated jobs that are essential for the countries economy and employment, also the fact that people are flying out of Australia and cruising other locations, why can’t we even just operate in our own waters is beyond me.
I definitely will not be giving this government my vote at the next election. Grrrr