Premier bars cruise passengers in WA

The MSC Magnifica wants to dock in Fremantle with 250 of the 1700 passengers suffering ‘upper respiratory illnesses’.

The MSC Magnifica cruise ship, right, at Station Pier in Melbourne last Thursday. Picture: AAP

The impending arrival in Perth of a Swiss cruise ship carrying more than 1700 passengers sparked crisis talks on Monday involving Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton and Australian Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell.

West Australian premier Mark McGowan told reporters on Monday that MSC Magnifica was steaming towards Fremantle port with 250 of its passengers reportedly suffering “upper respiratory illnesses”. The news sent shockwaves through Perth’s medical community because WA’s public hospitals have just 127 intensive care beds and a little over 300 ventilators.

However a Hong Kong-based public relations firm representing the cruise ship company said there was no evidence that any passenger onboard Magnifica had COVID-19.

The Australian has been told that when Magnifica docked in Sydney on March 18 and in Melbourne on Saturday, some passengers disembarked in order to fly home.

But a few hours after Mr McGowan’s press conference on Monday, an MSC spokeswoman told The Australian no crew or passengers would disembark in Western Australia.

“All passengers and crew on board are well. No passengers or crew on board suffer from any respiratory diseases or present any flu-like symptoms. There is no evidence to suggest that anyone on board may be infected with COVID-19,” the spokeswoman said.

“Along her scheduled itinerary, the ship plans to call Fremantle in Western Australia for a technical call only.

“While there, neither passengers or crew will disembark as the ship only plans to bunker before she continues along her scheduled itinerary.”

The Australian understands Mr McGowan spoke on the understanding that more than 200 people on the ship were ill.

Passengers on the MSC Magnifica at Station Pier in Melbourne last Thursday Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The prospect of hundreds of sick people needing help prompted high-level talks. WA police commissioner Chris Dawson spoke to General Campbell about options in which defence personnel might be able to help. Mr McGowan spoke to Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton and said he had not ruled anything out, including utilising a detention centre.

The talks took place as WA cleared the holiday island of Rottnest as a potential quarantine zone and searched for city hotels to turn into isolation centre of people who were having difficulty self isolating or refused to.

Mr McGowan said he would work with the Commonwealth to find a way to look after anyone who needed medical assistance. But, referring to the decision to allow passengers from the Ruby Princess to come ashore in Sydney, he said: “I will not allow what happened in Sydney to happen here. We will not allow passengers or crews to wander the streets. This is a non-negotiable position.”

Thousands of Ruby Princess passengers left the ship at Circular Quay last week and since then 48 of its Australian passengers have been diagnosed with the virus.

No passengers on Magnifica are Australian. A Magnifica passenger told The Australian in a social media message: “Since there is no Corona case on our ship, the captain decided to not let anyone off the ship if they want to get back on board.”

The Australian asked the company spokeswoman whether Magnifica had at any point asked for permission to disembark some or all passengers in Western Australia. A schedule for Fremantle Port showed the ship was due only to refuel at Fremantle and was due to arrive at 4am on Tuesday. It’s next stop is scheduled in Dubai.

Additional reporting: David Ross