Premier Gladys Berejiklian has pointed the finger at the troubled Ruby Princess cruise ship, warning staff onboard may have misled NSW Health about the extent of illnesses in passengers.
In her strongest comments yet on the Ruby Princess debacle, Ms Berejiklian said it was "absolutely potentially the case" that NSW Health was given incorrect information from the crew.
A sick crew member was removed from the Ruby Princess on Thursday afternoon.Credit:Janie Barrett
The Premier's position comes as Australian Border Force and healthcare providers boarded the Ruby Princess on Thursday, moored off Botany Bay.
One sick crew member was taken off the ship, NSW Police said in a statement on Thursday. Other sick crew had previously been removed.
Ms Berejiklian told 2GB on Thursday that the state's Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant had said "publicly from day one, that [NSW] Health responded to information they had and they exceeded the protocols that existed at that time."
"The question remains, what information was provided to Health and other authorities," Ms Berejiklian said. The Premier stressed every passenger who disembarked was told to self-isolate.
The Pacific Explorer docked at White Bay last monthCredit:Dominic Lorrimer
The Pacific Explorer, which has been docked at Sydney's White Bay Cruise Terminal for weeks, has been forced by NSW Police to leave the port and is now taking its crew to international waters to await further instructions from its parent company Carnival Cruises. Another unnamed ship has also been ordered to leave under the same circumstances.
The remaining six ships in NSW waters, carrying approximately 8000 crew largely from developing nations like the Philippines, will leave for their ports of origin in the coming days, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said on Thursday morning.
"If the crew is fit and healthy I have no hesitation in asking Minister Dutton or Border Force to enforce the orders to make them leave our shore," Commissioner Fuller said.
Maritime law expert Professor Don Rothwell from the Australian National University warned that a humanitarian disaster could unfold if governments around the world do not work together to find a solution and the ships are forced to return home.
Many cruise ships sail under so-called flags of convenience, meaning their home ports are typically low cost jurisdictions with tax benefits like the Bahamas, Bermuda and Panama.
"That means that some of the cruise ships have an awful long way to go", Professor Rothwell said.
"Sending the ships back to the Bahamas will take at least two weeks, and what if a crew member develops coronavirus? There are ports in the Pacific Ocean, but there are a large number of small Pacific nations that simply don't have the resources," he said.
Professor Rothwell said there would be an "urgent need" for governments to work together on the repatriation of crews and passengers in the next fortnight.
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