Cruise ship that left Darwin after court battle caught up in COVID-19 on-sea traffic jam in the Philippines

THE cruise ship at the centre of a last-ditch court battle to remain in Darwin Harbour is hours away from arriving in Manila Bay in the Philippines, where it will join an armada of about 17 banished luxury ocean liners.

The cruise ship at the centre of a last-ditch court battle to remain in Darwin Harbour, the Caledonian Sky, is hours away from arriving in Manila Bay in the Philippines, where it will join an armada of about 17 banished luxury ocean liners. Picture: Che Chorley

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THE cruise ship at the centre of a last-ditch court battle to remain in Darwin Harbour is hours away from arriving in Manila Bay in the Philippines, where it will join an armada of about 17 banished luxury ocean liners.

One of those vessels is the cruise ship being investigated in Australia for sparking coronavirus infections – the Ruby Princess.

The Caledonian Sky was the last cruise ship to leave Australia and Darwin.

The small boutique cruise ship with about 70 crew on board has slowly been making its way to Manila after being tossed out of Australia by the Federal Government.

The Caledonian Sky is heading for Manila Bay to take Filipino crew members home.

It is understood more than 5000 Filipino crew members on board the long list of cruise ships have to be to be tested for coronavirus by Philippines health authorities before being allowed to disembark.

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The 214 Filipino crew members on board the Ruby Princess who have to be tested may have to wait behind those from other ships that anchored in Manila Bay ahead of them.

The Ruby Princess, which docked in Sydney on March 19, has been linked to more than 650 cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths – 19 in Australia and two in the US.

Filipino health authorities are facing a mammoth task carrying out their COVID-19 health checks because all the cruise ships have been asked to wait in a Manila Bay anchorage area.

Medical and coast guard teams in protective suits must then travel by motorboats to the cruise ships, where they board and carry out tests.

The cruise ships must then wait for the results of tests before any decision can be made to allow crew members to disembark, transfer them for treatment in a hospital or to stay in further quarantine.

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Despite the damage the coronavirus outbreaks on various international cruise ships has caused the cruise ship sector, companies are continuing to promote the upcoming new season.

While border restrictions remain in place throughout Australia, the Caledonian Sky is still listed for a cruise visit on July 16.

The Sapphire Princess, which can carry 2670 passengers, is optimistically listed to visit Darwin the following day.

The ship is listed to be back in Darwin on August 17.