Shipping body slams ‘reckless, indefensible’ quarantine measures

Shipping Australia has slammed a move to quarantine all cargo ships offshore for 14 days, warning it will cause further havoc.

Shipping Australia has slammed a decision to impose a 14-day offshore quarantine on all cargo ships. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Queensland’s move to impose a 14-day offshore quarantine on all cargo ships coming to Australia has been slammed by the country’s peak shipping body and port operators, who warn it will delay the arrival of food and other ­essential freight items.

Shipping Australia — which represents shipping lines carrying 70 per cent of Australia’s container and car trade — on Thursday said the extension of COVID-19 related restrictions by Maritime Safety Queensland was “reckless and indefensible’’.

The Queensland government authority on Wednesday extended an existing requirement preventing Chinese and South Korean ships from berthing unless they had been at sea for at least 14 days to all other carriers, with the exception of those coming from New Zealand and the South Pacific.

The new measures have also been adopted by ports in Albany, Bunbury and Esperance.

Shipping Australia’s deputy chief executive Melwyn Noronha said shipping companies were now threatening to bypass Queensland ports and, if extended nationwide, they would bypass all Australian ports.

“Queensland will drastically be affected by this in causing delays to the supply chain for imported goods that fulfil the day-to-day needs, such as some food from Southeast Asia,’’ he said. “Shipping lines are saying they are considering bypassing Queensland and taking the goods to Victoria and NSW. They will then have to be taken by road to Queensland, and there may not be the trucks available.’’

The 14-day restriction was originally applied to ships coming from China in the first week of February, before later being extended to South Korean ships.

Ships from the other parts of the world have been able to berth, but their crews have had to self-isolate for 14 days and the freight is handled by staff on the wharves.

The new measures are likely to particularly impact vessels arriving from the global freight hubs of Singapore and Port Klang in Mal­aysia — which take between six and eight days to make the journey to Australia.

David Goodwin, owner of Interport Cargo, one of the state’s largest port quarantine and ­fumigation services, said the new measure would also damage Queensland exporters.

“If ship lines start to bypass Queensland as a result of these restrictions, then how do our exporters get their goods on a ship and to markets overseas,’’ he said.

Opposition state leader Deb Frecklington also questioned the measures.

“The Palaszczuk government measures are making Queensland businesses less competitive by failing to co-ordinate quarantine rules with other states,’’ she said.

“Labor are turning a health ­crisis into a jobs crisis.’’

Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Angus Mitchell said he was enforcing the new measures in a bid to protect staff working on the port, and also to ensure the supply chain into Australia was kept open.

“This means that all ships, regardless of their last international port, must not enter a Queensland ­pilotage area until 14 days have elapsed since the ship or any relevant person on board the ship left a foreign country, whichever is later,’’ he said in his alert.

“I appreciate this direction may have a range of impacts to the normal movement of trade through Queensland’s ports.

“Where ‘exceptional’ circumstances exist, specific exemptions may be considered by the general manager of MSQ.”