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.
Communist Door Dasher Admits Stealing Food from DHS Orders, Gets Fired After Freaking Out When Company Dared Confront Her
Teacher Sentenced Over Lewd Relationship with Middle School Student She Professed to Love
Black bear raiding a garbage can at Lake Tahoe garage triggers dramatic wildlife encounter
Maine Democrats walk a tightrope: Spurn Platner while courting his voters
Accused Charlie Kirk assassin allegedly confessed in texts, apologized and described motive, agent testifies
Le Pen topping French polls and relieved of ankle monitor, touts ‘winning duo’ with Jordan Bardella
‘American houses are for American people’: Trump housing chief insists immigration crackdown will lower costs
Dems to investigate Kash Patel ‘luxury’ perks after GOP ally sought answers about FBI jet use, BMW purchases
‘Preaching as resistance’: Dem minister behind Satanist wedding now linked to anti-Trump sermon guide
Graham Platner Drops Out of Maine Senate Race
Fetterman Obliterates Bernie Sanders for Supporting Platner and Other ‘Communists’ – He ‘Needs to Apologize’
Biden-era enviro rule accused of strangling truckers, squeezing Americans lands on Trump chopping block
Fury erupts as US brand fires 1,600 employees after securing thousands of foreign worker visas
Who is running to replace Graham Platner?
Air Force rescinding 135 promotions after test scoring error: ‘This is going to be hard’
“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.
