Australia Drops Cruise Ships Ban After Two Years

Australia Drops Cruise Ships Ban After 2-Years

International cruise ships will now be allowed to arrive and depart from Australian ports, as the Australian government announced the two-year ban has been lifted. 

Australia’s Department of Health announced in a media release that the order since the Covid-19 pandemic began, will come to an end. The ban which was implemented in March 2020 has been reversed due to advice from medical experts.

In the joint media release with the Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, it states that the ban has “been highly effective in preventing and controlling the entry, emergence and spread of COVID-19 in Australian territory.”

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The current order is set to expire on April 17 as the, “lifting the cruise ban is consistent with the reopening of Australia’s international border, and shows that we have successfully navigated Australia’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Greg Hunt, Minister for Health and Aged Care.

Prior to the pandemic the country “welcomed more than 600,000 cruise ship passengers,” said Karen Andrews, Minister for Home Affairs. As such, the lifting of the ban is great news to the tourism sector and broader economic recovery. 

The release goes on to add a few measures listed below to further reduce risk of Covid spread:

  • Enhanced pre-arrival reporting and identification of COVID-19 risk through more questions of passengers and improved processes.
  • Amendments to the Biosecurity (Negative pratique) Instrument 2016 to ensure cruise vessels always arrive in negative pratique (that is, permission to unload passengers and cargo).
  • Stress testing of the emergency response system in relation to cruises.
  • Engaging with the cruise industry on safe resumption.
  • Passengers will be required to be double vaccinated. 

Australia is one of the leading countries when it comes to its citizens being vaccinated as over 94% of citizens over the age of 16 have been fully vaccinated, while more than 12 million have also received a booster injection.