No charge over ship that let Covid cruise into the country
The crew and company operating the cruise ship that carried Covid-19 to New Zealand will not be prosecuted after an investigation concluded it would not be in the public interest.
The NZ Customs Service has released findings to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act following a 20-month investigation into the Ruby Princess and whether offences were committed before its arrival in New Zealand on March 11 last year.
The ship carrying 2671 passengers and 1146 crew left Sydney in the early hours of March 9.
It arrived in Milford Sound on March 11, then made stops in Dunedin, Akaroa, Wellington and Napier before cutting its trip short and leaving NZ waters on March 15. By the time it got back to Sydney on March 19, numerous people were seriously ill.
The Customs investigation, like an Australian special commission of inquiry report before it, draws no conclusion as to how or when the virus got on board.
Twenty-eight people died as a result of the ship outbreak and more than 700 were infected. Before it left our waters, the ship had spread the virus to 24 people in New Zealand.
It’s known now that Covid-19 was present on the ship before it arrived in New Zealand, because at least one passenger, Tony Londero, was symptomatic. Despite becoming increasingly unwell, he did not seek medical attention until March 16.
The Customs probe found that although the virus was likely to have been on the ship when it arrived in New Zealand, ‘‘this investigation has found no evidence of the crew, agent or anyone else connected with the Ruby Princess being aware of a Covid19 infection prior to arrival in New Zealand’’.
There was evidence ship staff had committed an offence by failing to submit an advance notice of arrival (ANA) to Customs at least 48 hours before it was due in Milford Sound, but the notice was submitted just eight hours late and that was due to additional screening of passengers being undertaken in Sydney.
An ANA is a statutory declaration that must be provided by the person in charge of a ship arriving in New Zealand to allow government agencies time to assess any risk before it arrives.
‘‘There is no evidence that the delay was part of a deliberate attempt to circumvent border controls and the ANA was submitted relatively quickly after the deadline passed. There is no evidence the delay had any causative effect on the cluster of 24 Covid-19 cases in New Zealand that are
attributed to the Ruby Princess,’’ the investigation found.
It was not in the public interest to prosecute for that offence, the investigation found.
It also found insufficient evidence to prove that the ANA submitted on March 9 was erroneous, misleading or not genuine.
The ship’s staff were aware of six people who were ill with suspected infectious diseases before the ship arrived in New Zealand, but these did not meet case definition criteria for Covid19 at the time, and all were notified before the ship was granted pratique (clearance to arrive).
When it was in Wellington on March 14, five passengers were tested for Covid-19, all returning negative results.
A criminal investigation into the arrival of the Ruby Princess in Sydney by New South Wales police is ongoing.
The Customs investigation noted ‘‘it is possible, but not likely, that further material relevant to New Zealand will be gathered during the course of that investigation’’.
A class action against Carnival Corporation was also ongoing.