Border Force allowed Ruby Princess to dock
An Australian Border Force officer told a Sydney harbour master to allow the troubled Ruby Princess to dock despite as many as 140 passengers in isolation on board, official sources said.
Sources with knowledge of official inquiries into the debacle revealed a conversation took place with the Port Authority of NSW employee and a female Border Force officer in the hours before the ship was due to dock.
The Ruby Princess cruise ship at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay, Sydney.Credit:Kate Geraghty
The Border Force officer expressed concern about passengers disembarking as she had been made aware that as many as 140 passengers on board were in isolation due to health concerns.
So serious were the concerns she flagged, the harbour master offered to stop the ship at Bradley’s Head to prevent it docking at Sydney Harbour.
According to the sources, the harbour master was told by the Border Force officer that she needed to check with a supervisor and 15 minutes later, she called back and said the ship could dock.
The crucial development is understood to be a key part of a NSW Police criminal investigation examining the fiasco. There are as many as 650 passengers with COVID-19 and there have been 15 deaths.
The sources said authorities would almost certainly examine who the Border Force official spoke to and why the decision not to leave the ship at Bradley’s Head was made.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian told her MPs in a recent party room meeting that Border Force had wrongly told NSW Health that the cruise ship was deemed "low-risk" before it docked on March 19.
Almost 2700 passengers were allowed to disembark in the early hours of March 19, with four cases of coronavirus confirmed just hours later.
An MP who was in the party room meeting said Ms Berejiklian "made it very clear that we did not fail, we were not responsible".
"She was very defiant. We were absolutely not to blame," the MP said.
But her comments prompted the Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram to hit back.
"What broke down in this case was ... health officers, trained doctors or nurses didn't get on board the vessel, swab passengers and take their swabs for results," Mr Outram said on March 25.
He said his officers were responsible for ensuring there was no contraband and ensuring everyone had visas. The Department of Agriculture had the biosecurity responsibility, Mr Outram said.
When contacted for comment regarding the latest development, Border Force referred the Herald to the comments Mr Outram made on March 25.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller revealed on Sunday there would be a criminal investigation, led by homicide detectives, well as a likely coronial inquiry.
Mr Fuller said an investigation was critical to determine whether the operators of the ship, Carnival Australia, were "transparent" about ill passengers.
He also singled out the Ports Authority as doing an "exceptional job" after phone logs between the the authority and Carnival Australia suggested the ship downplayed the risk of COVID-19.
The logs show the Ports Authority had initially not allowed the ship to dock because of coronavirus fears but then overturned that decision after being led to believe that there was no COVID-19 threat.