How Ruby Princess cruise ship passengers became global super spreaders of coronavirus
News Corp can reveal for the first time the web of secondary infections which health authorities have traced back to the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
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Exclusive: Sick Ruby Princess passengers accidentally spread COVID-19 across Australia and New Zealand, with dozens of people catching the virus from family and friends who had been on the disastrous cruise.
News Corp can reveal for the first time the web of secondary infections which health authorities have traced back to the ship, which is on lockdown at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, pending a criminal and coronial inquiry by New South Wales Police.
There are now 27 coronavirus cases in Australia which authorities say came from sick passengers who accidentally passed it on.
In New Zealand, two tour guides, a bus driver and an interpreter caught the virus after working with Ruby Princess passengers on day tours – then inadvertently passed it on to another six people.
The NZ Government is considering suing the Ruby Princess, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tasking her Crown law department to investigate legal remedies the Government might have against the cruise company.
New Zealand’s Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield indicated the virus had been present on the ship from the day it left Sydney on March 8, saying: “ … if you look at the picture of what happened on the Ruby Princess is that there was one or more people on that ship with COVID-19 when it departed Australia.”
Legal experts are warning a slew of lawsuits is likely over the Ruby Princess debacle, with 659 passengers from the March 8-19 cruise from Sydney to New Zealand diagnosed with coronavirus, while 15 people have died.
The cruise company Carnival Australia called for any police allegations against the ship to be spelled out.
“We have stated that we will willingly participate in the investigation and respond strongly to any allegations, which now must be made known,’’ a spokesman said.
He said the Ruby Princess had “adhered to all federal and state health clearance procedures and systems’’ before she had docked in Sydney on March 19, when 2700 passengers were allowed by NSW authorities to leave the ship without waiting for the results of COVID-19 tests.
The spokesman also said the company was confident “the health clearance process was followed’’ in New Zealand, and that they would co-operate willingly with inquiries there.
Health authorities across Australia are now dealing with secondary infections which can be traced back to the cruise – 12 in NSW, five in Victoria, six in South Australia, three in the ACT and one in Queensland.
Six Ruby Princess passengers who returned to NZ after the cruise also tested positive.
Prime Minister Ardern said cruise ships had an obligation to ensure anyone who was unwell did not disembark.
She said she had asked for legal advice from NZ’s Crown law as to “whether or not the Ruby Princess while in New Zealand fulfilled all of its obligations under our laws.’’
Shine Lawyers in Australia is investigating a class action against Princess Cruises.
Professor of international law Donald Rothwell, a maritime law expert at the Australian National University, said he expected all cruise companies would face a series of litigations which would likely run for years over the coronavirus outbreaks.
He said Australian passengers may also be able to sue in American courts.
The Ruby Princess is registered in the tax haven of Bermuda, was operated by an Australian division of Carnival Corporation, which is headquartered in the United States, and had a crew made up of around 1000 foreign nationals.
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“It raises a whole series of complexities but it would immediately suggest to me that US courts will be looked at very closely as being the favoured forum,’’ Prof. Rothwell said.
“It’s the cruise company which has the ultimate contractual and legal obligation to the passengers.’’
In terms of the criminal investigation announced by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller last week, Prof. Rothwell said it was predominantly a NSW issue and currently fell under NSW jurisdiction.
He said Commissioner Fuller had indicated the vessel would be in NSW waters for 10 days, meaning it was probably due to depart by Wednesday.
“So that raises an issue for me as to whether or not the police investigation will be completed by then,’’ he said.
Prof. Rothwell asked whether there would be an attempt to extends the vessel’s time at Port
Kembla, or NSW Police’s jurisdiction over the ship and its crew would be “considerably
compromised” if the vessel left NSW waters.