Covid-19: the ‘pretty strict’ rules for arriving ships and their crews

Three current cases of Covid-19 have been linked to a ship arriving in New Zealand, while another 18 are connected to overseas crews.

A contractor working in the ports of Auckland and Taranaki tested positive on Friday. Two of his work contacts have now also been diagnosed.

Meanwhile, 18 fishing crews who isolated themselves at a Christchurch quarantine hotel after flying to New Zealand tested positive for Covid-19. A historical case related to a member of the crew of a ship was also found in the Port of Tauranga.

One of the ships the contractor was working on, the Ken Rei, was anchored off the port of Napier on Tuesday, and the port was unwilling to allow it to dock.

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Phil Shoemack, the medical health officer at Toi Te Ora Public Health in the Bay of Plenty, said the regimen for the ship’s crews was “pretty strict.”

“At the moment, there are essentially no permits ashore, so the risk of ship crews spreading the virus is reduced,” he said.

“The other risk is when port workers get on the ship to load, restock the galley, inspect the ship or whatever work may be,” Shoemack said.

“The requirement for dockworkers is that they must wear personal protective equipment (mask and gloves) when on the ship.

“As far as possible, they should avoid approaching more than 2 meters for more than 15 minutes with any member of the crew.

“Sometimes that is not possible and they have to get closer, so we cannot eliminate the risk. But now we have routine swabs for all dockworkers, ”Shoemack said.

“Also, any dockworker who shows up for work has clear instructions that if they have any symptoms, they should turn around and go home.”

What ships can visit New Zealand?

The rules for ships and crews of ships visiting New Zealand are set out in the Covid-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) 2020 Order, though Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has said that some of the practices are being reconsidered.

Only New Zealand flagged vessels and exempt vessels are allowed to enter New Zealand waters and ports. Foreign flag vessels are generally prohibited, with some exemptions to allow cargo flow. Cruises are prohibited. Foreign flag vessels exempted from the ban include cargo and fishing vessels.

In addition to the ships covered by the exemption, the director general of health may give permission for a foreign ship to arrive in this country if there is an urgent need, such as supplies and fuel, substantial repairs or refurbishments, and humanitarian reasons.

Humanitarian reasons are unlikely to include vessels that travel primarily for pleasure or convenience, as tourists, or to “spend the winter.”

What do you have to do?

All ships planning to arrive in New Zealand must, in most cases, give at least seven full days’ notice of arrival to Customs.

Can the crew go ashore?

Almost everyone who arrives in New Zealand by sea is legally required to follow the criteria set out in the ship’s isolation order. That includes those arriving in small and recreational boats.

The only exemptions are New Zealand government ships, New Zealand warships, and foreign state ships.

Anyone arriving in New Zealand on board a ship must be isolated and quarantined for at least 14 days.

Wherever someone wants to disembark, the entire ship’s crew must have:

• have been in isolation or quarantine since the last point of contact for at least 14 days on the ship on which they arrived, and

• have been symptom-free for those 14 days, and

• met the low-risk indicators, typically with a negative test result.

People can temporarily disembark from a ship to perform an essential task on or immediately next to a ship.

A medical officer or a health protection officer may allow disembarkation during the isolation period for other reasons, such as for medical treatment.

Who can get on board?

The only people who can board a ship in isolation or quarantine are those who are performing a necessary task. That includes people like law enforcement officers, pilots, customs or immigration officers.

Anyone boarding a ship should take reasonable steps to minimize the risk of spreading Covid-19, including maintaining a physical distance of at least 2 meters from anyone in isolation and quarantine and wearing personal protective equipment.

What about crew changes?

If a crew member wishes to disembark to fly out of New Zealand or to depart on another ship, they must

• travel directly from your ship to the airport on the same day as the international flight or travel directly to the other ship and depart as soon as reasonably possible.

Crewmembers arriving in New Zealand by air should travel directly from the airport to the ship on which they depart and depart New Zealand on that ship as soon as reasonably possible.

If this cannot happen quickly, crew members must enter a managed isolation facility while they wait.

When will the risk of cases at the border stop?

Auckland University of Technology supply chain management professor Dr Michael Wang said he was not surprised to hear that a dock worker had tested positive for coronavirus, when the global pandemic was not under effective control.

“Experts have said that as long as there is no effective vaccine and treatment for Covid-19 on a global scale, the pandemic will continue for a long time to come,” Wang said.

Globally, air cargo and shipping logistics had been significantly affected by the disease, although shipping capacity was at normal levels in New Zealand for now.

“Industry and government should pay more attention to supply chain uncertainty and risk posed by Covid-19. We need to do more logistics research on this topic to support New Zealand businesses. “

Could we do more?

Associate Professor Lincoln Wood, who specializes in supply chain operations and management at the University of Otago, said New Zealand ports were less automated than those in some countries and, although they had relatively few points of contact, still there was a risk of virus transmission.

“Two proposals would be effective to exercise control and reduce risks in seaports. First, we can increase testing of dock workers and foreign ship crews, ”Wood said.

Better personnel movement protocols could reduce points of contact and where both crews and workers use the locations, sanitization could be increased.

“Second, we could reduce international ship interactions with New Zealand ports by requiring fewer international ports and increasing domestic ocean freight movements from these hubs to regional ports,” he said.

“The approach is politically challenging as, after deregulation, we have many competing ports. The consolidation of international ports would represent a significant change in thinking about a national port strategy, but would allow greater control over this potential point of transmission of the virus.