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The Health Ministry has told Heritage Expeditions that its ship is unlikely to return to the country if it travels to Antarctica in January as planned.
A Kiwi tourism company is angry and disappointed after a Health Ministry decision ruined its next trip to Antarctica.
But the Ministry says their hands are tied by Covid-19 legislation and there is no room for an exemption.
The Heritage Expeditions company of Christchurch had planned to set sail on January 13 for a month-long trip to the Ross Sea region of Antarctica via the subantarctic islands.
The ‘In the Wake of Scott and Shackleton’ expedition, which cost guests more than $ 20,000 each, had gained approval from Immigration New Zealand, Customs and Maritime NZ.
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However, the Health Ministry told the company in recent days that it is unlikely that it will be granted permission to re-enter New Zealand in February, according to an email obtained by Stuff.
The email, the latest in a chain between the company and health officials, was sent by the Ministry’s Deputy Executive Director for Covid-19 Health System Response Sue Gordon to Heritage Expeditions COO Nathan Russ. .
“I will not re-litigate the issues with you, other than repeating the key point,” Gordon wrote.
“The limits of the places to which vessels granted exemptions may travel under the Public Health Response Order (Maritime Border) COVID-19 (No 2) 2020 are determined by the legal definition of ‘New Zealand ‘under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act of 2020.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
Heritage Expeditions co-owner Nathan Russ talks about the work his company did to get government approval to operate the first expedition or cruise ship in New Zealand since the closure (first published in November 2020).
“The Ministry of Health has no discretion to allow a vessel to travel beyond this limit and attempting to do so would be a direct violation of the law.
“And there is no mechanism for us to change that limit due to a lack of public health risk or any other factor.”
Any ship venturing beyond the limit would require permission to re-enter New Zealand waters, which was unlikely to be granted, Gordon wrote.
She was happy that the decision was appropriate, she said.
“As such, and reflecting significant ongoing Covid-19 workloads, I have instructed the team to cease correspondence on the matter, subject solely to receipt of any new, additional or updated information.”
A letter from the company to guests on Tuesday, obtained by Stuff, broke the bad news.
“We are as disappointed, frustrated and angry as no doubt you will be to hear this news and bewildered how the Ministry of Health could have made this decision.”
Katya Ovsyanikova / Things
Yellow-eyed / Hoiho penguins on Enderby Island observe a Heritage Expeditions ship during one of the company’s voyages to the subantarctic islands.
Aaron Russ, co-owner of Heritage, said Stuff everyone on board would be a New Zealand citizen or legally New Zealand.
They would pose no risk to New Zealand’s health as they would travel in a ship “bubble”, he said.
Russ said that guests would also not interact with anyone at Scott Base or McMurdo Station, as was the case with travel in the pre-Covid era.
In his view, the Ministry’s decision showed “hypocrisy” in light of the government allowing NIWA’s RV Tangaroa research vessel to sail to Antarctica on January 9.
The company told clients in its letter that it is seeking legal advice.
He invited clients aboard a 13-day expedition to New Zealand’s subantarctic islands on the same ship from Bluff on January 13 as originally planned, or offered to transfer their reservations to a trip to Antarctica in 2022.
Stuff has requested comments from the Ministry of Health.
