Coronavirus: ban forces passengers off ships

Cruise ships have been called back and passengers forced to disembark after a 30-day ban on foreign ships docking in Australia.

The Queen Elizabeth will be the last international ship to port in Circular Quay for at least the next 30 days Picture: Damian Shaw

Cruise ships have been called back to ports and passengers forced to disembark before setting sail after a 30-day ban on foreign ships docking in Australia.

P&O Cruises pre-empted the ban with its own “pause on operations” from Saturday, with passengers on board the Pacific Dawn in Brisbane forced off, before it even left Portside Wharf. Pacific Explorer and Pacific Aria were returning to their ports of Sydney and Adelaide respectively for disembarkation, as the cruise company apologised for the disruption.

“We are acutely aware of the disappointment for our guests whose cruise holidays have been unavoidably cut short or cancelled at short notice,” said P&O Australia president Sture Myrmell.

“Cancelling or reducing the length of a cruise is the last thing we would ever want to do, but these are extraordinary times.”

Carnival Cruises has also suspended its Australian operations in a move that affected a number of current Princess cruises, and Norwegian Cruises has halted all voyages. Cunard Line cancelled a scheduled tour by the Queen Elizabeth to New Zealand from Sydney on Sunday, and banned passengers from boarding the Queen Mary 2 in Fremantle.

Royal Caribbean took the decision to freeze its entire fleet worldwide until April 11, including across its Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea brands.

Industry body Cruise Lines International Association said it was clear members were responding swiftly to “evolving circumstances” in relation to COVID-19.

“This is an unprecedented situation and we are conscious not only of the impact on guests, but also on the destinations that cruise lines visit and the many businesses that depend upon cruise tourism,” said a CLIA spokesman. “Despite challenging times, we are confident our industry has the resilience to overcome this situation in the longer term.”

At the New Zealand port of Akaroa, just outside Christchurch, passengers aboard the Golden Princess cruise ship were being quarantined after a suspected case of coronavirus.

Two passengers had travelled on a flight from Los Angeles that carried a coronavirus-positive passenger.

When tests came back negative, the ship was cleared to depart Akaroa but the remainder of the cruise was cancelled with the Golden Princess on her way back to Australia.