Port Botany COVID scare highlights flaws for screening ships: Union

A maritime union has slammed flaws in the way international ships are screened at Port Botany following a COVID scare at the port.

A maritime union has slammed flaws in the way international ships are screened at Port Botany following a COVID scare at the port – with current protocols to stop the spread of the virus relying heavily on the honesty of shipmasters.

It comes as the NSW Port Authority has refused to release figures highlighting the amount of ships which have actually reported COVID symptoms before entering the busy port.

The calls to overhaul the screening protocols at Port Botany have intensified following the revelation a ship potentially carrying a crew riddled with the virus docked at the port on March 31 before leaving the next day.

NSW Health confirmed on Friday that 12 of the 13 crew members of the Inge Kosan ship have since tested positive for COVID, since arriving in Vanuatu from Sydney, including one crew member who has died.

Port Botany in Sydney.

The Maritime Union of Australia told NewsLocal it was their understanding the ship did not “self declare” any symptoms before entering the port.

Fifteen wharfies at Port Botany had contact with the ship and 11 have returned negative COVID tests.

The remaining four wharfies – all of which wore personal protective equipment – were still awaiting their test results as at Friday afternoon.

The Maritime Union of Australia has now called for a revamp of the way international ships are screened for COVID at Australian ports including Botany.

Currently, to gain entry to Port Botany, a shipmaster must fill in a checklist and self declare any COVID symptoms of their crew.

The NSW Port Authority confirmed the checklist includes what ports they have visited, whether there are any ill passengers on-board, whether any crew are showing symptoms of COVID, and whether any crew member has been in contact with anyone with coronavirus.

The Inge Kosan ship which carried the sick crew.

If COVID symptoms are suspected, then the NSW Port Authority will seek further advice from government agencies before allowing wharfies to board the vessel.

The NSW Port Authority would not say how many shipmasters had actually reported symptoms during the past year.

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the Inge Kosan had exposed the “seriously flawed” measures in place.

“The current arrangement, where COVID testing only takes place if a ship self-declares symptoms, is completely flawed and needs to be urgently overhauled,” Mr Crumlin said.

“Had testing taken place when the Inge Kosan berthed, the COVID cases on-board would have been immediately identified, the seafarers would have received medical care — potentially saving a man’s life — and the Australian workers would have been immediately isolated and tested.”

The union has been fighting for over a year for the Federal Government to make national changes to the safety protocols.

The union is now recommending, among other measures, the introduction of COVID testing for all international seafarers when they berth.

The union suggests normal port work can continue concurrently and, if a positive test result comes back, all workers with interaction with the vessel would then be immediately isolated.

The union previously proposed testing of ship crew before vessels berth but that was rejected.