Tougher rules to keep cruise ships clean

Passengers and crew members aboard incoming cruise ships will be have to declare they don’t have COVID-19 symptoms under enhanced protocols under consideration.

Anthony Londero at home in Tamworth. Picture: Andrew Pearson

Every passenger and crew member aboard an incoming cruise ship will be required to declare they do not have symptoms for COVID-19 under a set of enhanced protocols being considered by federal officials in the aftermath of the Ruby Princess­ ­catastrophe.

Discussions between the federal government and state and territory jurisdictions, will involve strengthening mandatory pre-­arrival reporting requirements to ensure anyone on board a cruise liner, and the vessel itself, is flagged with health officials if they are potentially infected with the pathogen.

Lying about these symptoms could incur a significant penalty, a government official said. Currently, breaches of the Biosecurity Act for false or misleading reporting can incur a $26,640 fine or up to two years in prison.

The updated measures have been driven largely by federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and came into effect on July 29 for commercial vessels, while the Ruby Princess inquiry was still being finalised. Discussions are continuing to extend the enhanced protocols to cruise ships once they are permitted to sail to Australia.

At present, cruise ships remained barred by Australia’s maritime ports because of border closures implemented by Scott Morrison in mid-March, resulting in the Ruby Princess adjusting its journey around New Zealand and hastily returning to Sydney.

The outbreak on board resulted in Australia’s largest corona­virus cluster, leading to 28 deaths and more than 1000 infections, according to findings handed down by the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry on Friday.

The NSW government spent the weekend resisting calls to respond to the report’s findings and recommendations. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard would not respond to questions on Sunday.

Under the updated pre-arrival screening being applied to commercial vessels, ships have to declare whether any crew member is showing symptoms for COVID-19. They are then flagged by the vessel’s master with the state or territory human biosecurity officer, resulting in an assessment of the crew and its cargo; they tare kept on the ship until written advice is provided by officials on shore that the health risks have been assessed and mitigated.

Every agency involved in the granting of “pratique’, the formal term used for permission to dock, is also made aware of the vessel’s risk to public safety, a change in protocol that tightens communication practices between these bodies and addresses at least one finding on “clumsy” information-sharing noted by the inquiry.

The release of its report ended months of confusion and commentary over how the catastrophe occurred in the first place and whether any one agency bore responsibility for the unchecked release of the cruise liner’s 2647 passengers through Sydney. They were granted permission to disembark while COVID-19 testing on 13 swabs was being undertaken.

The report ultimately absolved the Australian Border Force and other federal agencies from any part in the mishap but emphasised numerous “inexplicable” and “serious” failings made by NSW Health and its expert panel of officials, who designated the vessel a “low risk” upon arrival.

These findings jarred with the narrative promulgated by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who, as reported by The Australian, told her coalition partyroom ABF officials were to blame for the mishap. She resisted repeated calls to hold an independent inquiry into the fiasco and relented only after immense public pressure.

Anthony Londero, a passenger diagnosed with COVID-19, said he still suffered from breathing difficulties as a result of the virus. He said one of his greatest concerns was the likelihood he infected someone else while he was symptomatic.