Covid 19 coronavirus: foreign yachts take lives at risk in New Zealand entry ban

Foreign yachts seeking refuge in New Zealand from the seasonal Pacific cyclones are baffled by the response of not letting them in.

The UK-based Ocean Cruising Club received an official notice yesterday that foreign yachts waiting to leave the Pacific will not be allowed to enter New Zealand, and must now make immediate alternate arrangements.

The club has been in contact with New Zealand immigration and maritime agencies to find a way to allow up to 300 yachts to sail here on the seasonal cruise route.

Yachts traditionally headed south to New Zealand every summer. Many carried out yard repairs across the country and toured the New Zealand coast, visiting towns and cities along the way.

The ocean cruise club was told that maritime border restrictions applied under the current Covid-19 public health response.

The club said that lives and property were at risk, but the latest official response revealed a misunderstanding around the logistics of boat trips.

The letter from the director general of health said that there were limited exemptions to the prohibition of foreign vessels arriving in New Zealand, including cargo and fishing vessels.

Permission for ships to enter could also be granted, should there be an imperative need, such as overhauls, repairs, or humanitarian reasons.

The letter said that the advice of the Ministry of Health had led the director general to determine that a possible future cyclone did not provide a sufficient basis to justify an exemption from the order.

“While I will determine on a case-by-case basis whether permission is granted for a ship to arrive in New Zealand for humanitarian reasons, my assessment is that the ships in question are not facing a cyclone at this time, but rather the prospect of a possible cyclone. cyclone or cyclones in the future.

“Therefore, there is no compelling need for the ships in question to arrive in New Zealand for humanitarian reasons.

“I will continue to determine if there is a compelling reason for a ship to arrive in New Zealand for humanitarian reasons, on a case-by-case basis, in the event of a cyclone anywhere.”

The club’s roving rear commodore, Guy Chester, told RNZ from Tahiti this morning that the correspondence received showed that New Zealand health officials could be “fantastic epidemiologists” who understood the coronavirus well, but did not appear to have understood the need to leave before a cyclone. blows, and not during one.

“The pressing need now is to get the yachts out of the South Pacific cyclonic zone,” he said.

The letter said the sailors would need to make immediate alternate arrangements, allowing them to secure a safe harbor, as in their home countries, in a timely manner.

Chester said it wasn’t that simple and left them no choice but to stay in the Pacific, which didn’t have the facilities to deal with hundreds of yachts and people exposed to severe storms.

“Unfortunately, despite many explanatory letters and emails, health officials do not appreciate that most yachts cannot sail to safe harbor in their own countries. Nor do they understand that yachts must be safe outside the cyclone zone. before the cyclone season occurs, and not at sea when one occurs. “

He said the matter was now urgent and the club was imploring the government to reconsider.

Chester said New Zealand has proven capacity in marinas across the country to cope with the annual influx of foreign yachts. Quarantine and self-isolation protocols were already in place.

He acknowledged that part of the problem could be that visiting yachts could be trapped in New Zealand for longer than anticipated, due to the pandemic.

“If they have to stay in New Zealand it is not an economic impediment: the yachts [owners] spend millions. “

He said four superyachts had been approved for entry into New Zealand, under the overhaul / refit waiver. Proof was required in advance from a shipyard sponsoring a ship’s entry for the work to be carried out.

“The request of the Ocean Cruising Club is that New Zealand accept that shelter during the cyclone season is a humanitarian or urgent need.”

A ministry spokesperson said the CEO’s decision took into account the risk of importing Covid-19 into New Zealand and the likely impact on border and health agencies.

“The proposal that between 300 and 350 yachts or small vessels with up to 1,000 people arrive in New Zealand from the Pacific, many of them from high-risk Covid-19 areas, would pose a significant risk to public health.”

The CEO has told the cruise club that an influx of people from the sea would potentially divert limited resources in testing, managed isolation and quarantine away from the broader effort.

The spokesperson said ships and vessels in distress would be allowed to enter New Zealand, but any deliberate attempt to violate this rule could result in stiff penalties including a fine, imprisonment or confiscation of the ship.