Not long after cruising restarted in the region, among the last to permit cruising again after the pandemic, Australia and New Zealand in recent days have barred a number of cruise ships originating in international waters from docking.
The countries cited "biofoul" concerns about the ships' hulls. According to Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry (DAFF), biofoul is described as an accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals on vessel hulls. According to Maritime Executive, marine growth or biofouling would be allowed at "most seaports" around the world, but New Zealand and Australia have strict national biofouling regulations.
Both Australia and New Zealand are noted for taking stringent measures against any biohazards arriving with incoming travellers or any type of vessel from threatening their unique and fragile ecosystems. Australia's maritime regulations were only implemented in JUN 2022. The rules require cruise operators to "demonstrate implementation of proactive management practices" and the authorities are encouraged to use Australia's biosecurity rules to inspect hulls.
New Zealand's regulations aren't much older, dating from mid-2018, and authorities say that about six per cent of vessels scheduled to call in its ports have been required to clean their hulls before entering local waters, over the last three years - mostly during the pandemic, when no international cruise ships were allowed, reports Maritime Executive.
The combination of ships returning to the region from a long absence and coming from foreign waters, plus relatively new regulations, seems to have caught the industry off guard, and it's resulting in a serious hitch in the smooth resumption of cruising in that area.
On 26DEC, Viking's luxury cruise ship Viking Orion was identified to have banned biohazards on its hull while the vessel was at Wellington, New Zealand. Subsequently, the ship was denied calls at Christchurch on the South Island and Dunedin, both in New Zealand. As reported by Maritime Executive, Viking Orion was scheduled to proceed to Hobart, Australia on Tasmania but the Australian officials then also denied the vessel entry into local waters.
The Viking Orion remained off the coast of Adelaide, where on 30-31DEC, professional divers were brought in to clean the hull.
"While the ship needed to miss several stops on this itinerary in order for the required cleaning to be conducted, she is expected to sail for Melbourne as planned on January 1, and we are expecting the scheduled itinerary to resume completely by January 2," said Viking in a statement. According to pax on social media, they are being told that they would be receiving at least 50 per cent compensation.
Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess was also barred from both Australia and New Zealand after banned snails were found on its hull on 19DEC, reports Maritime Executive. Divers cleaned the vessel off the east coast of New Zealand, resulting in cancellations for scenic cruising of New Zealand’s Milford Sound and a port call at Port Chalmers. Guests still spent Christmas at Christchurch, New Zealand, as scheduled.
Over the New Year's weekend, it was reported on social media that the current sailing of the Regent Seven Seas Explorer was missing ports in Australia,the fjords of New Zealand and Dunedin, NZ and was scheduled to be at sea for 6 days to clean the hull of its ship to meet local requirements, with the current and subsequent cruise itineraries being affected. A letter from Regent to guests said its own cleaning of the ship's hull was not accepted by local authorities.
