Revealed: Why foreign cruise ship MS Caledonian Sky is fighting to stay in Darwin Harbour
THERE are no passengers on board the luxury boutique cruise ship MS Caledonian Sky, anchored just off the entrance to Darwin Harbour, which is fighting an Australian Government direction to leave our waters
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THERE are no passengers on board the luxury boutique cruise ship MS Caledonian Sky, anchored just off the entrance to Darwin Harbour, which is fighting an Australian Government direction to leave Australian territory.
There are just 68 crew members on board.
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The last passengers on board left the ship on February 27 and the vessel has had no reports of coronavirus during its whole summer cruise season in waters around and near Australia.
After leaving New Zealand in the second week of February MS Caledonian Sky headed up the east coast of Australia and arrived in Port Moresby on February 27, where passengers disembarked.
The vessel then took refuge under voluntary isolation.
However, due to concerns of civil unrest, it departed Port Moresby on March 15.
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On March 18, it is understood the Australian Government granted the vessel entry to Australian waters and it arrived in Darwin on March 19 and it and its crew have been in isolation ever since.
There are no suspected COVID-19 cases, or crew members with any symptoms, on board.
On April 4, the Australian Government directed the MS Caledonian Sky to depart Australian territory.
A court hearing is expected this week to hear an appeal against the direction to leave Australian territory, with tour company APT arguing the direction is in contravention of treaties on Safety of Life at Sea.
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Despite the cruise ship’s clean bill of health, the Northern Territory Government has taken a hard line on the cruise ship’s presence.
Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the Government “had given very clear direction around cruise ships – that we don’t want them”.
At the weekend, Health Minister Natasha Fyles backed the Chief Minister’s call also saying the vessel should leave.
The MS Caledonian Sky offers Kimberley, west coast and Top End adventure cruises that take in scores of destinations between Arnhem Land, Darwin, Broome, and Geraldton, which is one of the arguments for it wanting to stay in the Top End.
It has spent the summer of 2019 and early 2020 along Australia’s east coast cruising from Cairns, and then on to Australia’s southern coastline, visiting most Australian states.
It then spent December, January and February port hopping around New Zealand’s North and South islands before heading to Port Moresby.
The MS Caledonian Sky has a May to September expedition cruise season scheduled for the Top End and west coast of Australia.
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