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.
TMZ pleads with man to prove himself after receiving fourth letter claiming to know where Nancy Guthrie is
Priceless: ‘I Want My Mommy!’ – Anti-ICE Student Tangles With Cop, Begins Wailing for Her Mom as Soon as Cuffs Go On
Montana governor launches sanctuary crackdown, probes capital city over ICE limits
‘At some point, you age out’: Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates
Woke Actress Says Minneapolis Shootings Ruined Her Oscar Nomination, Pushes Debunked ICE Child ‘Kidnapping’ Story
Watch This Previously Unimaginable ‘Backward Finish’ Where Olympic Skier Wins by… Skiing Backwards Across Finish Line
Transit funding hits record highs as ridership languishes, new report questions return on billions
Guthrie Kidnapping Update: FBI Discovers Apparent Link to Kidnapping 2 Miles from Victim’s Home, DNA Results Already Coming In
Hiker dies near summit of New York’s tallest peak after slipping off trail
Rubio seals civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Hungary
Savannah Guthrie releases video marking two weeks since mom’s disappearance and more top headlines
Flashback: That Time Corey Feldman Warned The View About Hollywood Child Sex Abuse and Was Scolded for It
Nancy Mace proposes bill to make aliens deportable, inadmissible for animal cruelty
WaPo Eats Crow For Reporting White House Didn’t Announce Something Trump Literally Put On Truth Social
DOJ antitrust shake-up reflects effort to define ‘MAGA antitrust’ after Slater exit
“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.
