Upwards of 60 Australian longshoremen were stood down Tuesday after they refused to unload a container ship from China.
The Xin Da Lian docked at the DP World terminal in the Victoria state capital of Melbourne after leaving Shanghai on March 17. Union organizers claim the ship may be contaminated with coronavirus and should instead be held in quarantine.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says the vessel is in breach of the federal government’s 14-day coronavirus quarantine period after visiting a Taiwanese port on March 19 during its voyage Down Under, local outlet News.com reports.
Workers say shaving two days off the quarantine period is “a risk to workers and the community” and those who refused to unload the vessel over concerns about the risk of the coronavirus were sent home.
DP World Australia chief operating officer Andrew Adam says the ship was cleared to berth by the Australian Border Force.
WH Filled Spot Hillary Clinton Portrait Used to Occupy with Very Special Trump Portrait
Inside Barry Morphew’s secretive life 600 miles away from epicenter of murder investigation into wife’s death
American with ‘CIA’ credentials and variety of weapons arrested in Mexico
NORAD intercepts plane in Trump’s Bedminster no-fly zone: ‘No excuses’
We Have the Video: These Are the 2 Pitches That Allegedly Triggered MLB Gambling Probe
‘Heartwarming’ Video: Melania Trump Spent 4th of July Week at Children’s Hospital
DOJ Throws Massive Wrench in the Plans of Anti-‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Advocates
Deadly Texas flood exposes ‘neglected’ weather alert system Trump aims to modernize
Elon Musk launches ‘America Party’ after Trump signs historic spending bill: ‘Waste & graft’
Fact Check: Did ABC News Deceive Readers by Referring to MS-13 as a ‘Clique’?
Minnesota Lawmaker Killer Suspect Asks for Special Accommodations
Push to Add Trump to Mount Rushmore Gains Momentum as House Rep Submits Official Request
DHS: Several criminal illegal aliens deported to South Sudan after delays from ‘activist judges’
No arrests made as DC ‘teens’ shot fireworks at apartment buildings on July 4th
China Needs Russia Fighting in Ukraine So Conflict Keeps Trump Occupied: Report
“Any crew members aboard a vessel that has been to mainland China must have been at sea for 14 days before they are allowed to dock in Australia,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The union is not allowed to unilaterally declare a vessel unsafe. They are not allowed to create their own set of rules.”
MUA national assistant secretary Warren Smith said it didn’t want to see a repeat of Sydney’s Ruby Princess cruise ship debacle where the vessel was allowed to send all its passengers ashore without screening after it had docked.
“The largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in Australia … was the result of inadequate measures put in place for the arrival of ships,” he said in a statement as reported by local outlet 7News.
“What’s the difference with this ship?”
Story cited here.
