Coronavirus: Ruby Princess cruise ship anchored off Terrigal Beach
The cruise ship which has become a major source of coronavirus cases across Australia is now anchored off the coast of Terrigal.
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The embattled Ruby Princess cruise ship that has been caught up in the COVID-19 crisis has been spotted off the coast of Terrigal.
The ship, which was a talking point for joggers and walkers at Terrigal Haven this afternoon, is sitting around 20km off the coast.
A spokesman from Carnival Australia confirmed it was the Ruby Princess which has been ordered out of NSW waters after becoming source of coronavirus cases across the country.
“It might be unusual for a cruise ship to be in that position off the Central Coast but nothing should be read it into it other than the fact that Ruby Princess is in full compliance with a directive to be outside of NSW waters,” he told the Express.
“There are no passengers on board, only crew. Ruby Princess is currently out of service as part of the global suspension of cruise operations.”
Live MarineTraffic data indicates the ship is “not under commend” and its destination port is not recognised.
It comes as cases of COVID-19 from the ship rise to 211 today, with a female passenger in her 80s becoming the ACT’s first death from the virus. Some members of the crew have also tested positive.
The ship, which docked in Sydney on March 19, let 2700 passengers disembark without health checks and since then, cases linked to the ship have been popping up across Australia.
Many passengers boarded interstate flights after disembarking, while others caught trains and ferries home.
An ongoing blame game has erupted between NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Border Force and NSW Health over who was responsible for letting passengers out without being tested.
NSW has since banned all cruise ship passengers from disembarking until new protocols are in place.