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.
Unity wins out as Republicans swallow $643M in funding for Trump-opposed media agency
Schumer Pleads for Money and Denigrates ICE in White House Meeting with Trump
NTSB: Boeing Was Well Aware of Flaws Linked to UPS Cargo Plane Before Deadly Kentucky Crash
Renee Good was shot four times, including in the head, fire report shows
Trump admin warns of ‘widescale doxxing’ of ICE if House Dem’s new bill passes
Sen John Fetterman calls for Democrats to ‘resist’ advocacy of ‘extreme’ stances like abolishing ICE
Socialist mayor pays ethics fine after failing to disclose $10K contribution from parents
Photos reveal Virginia nanny took slain wife’s place in master bedroom weeks after love triangle murders
National Gun Group Estimates Americans Own Over a Combined 500 Million Firearms
Victor Davis Hanson Says He’s Lucky to Be Alive After Complication During Major Operation
Democrats ready war powers blitz to exploit a Trump ‘vulnerability’
RNC chair bets on ‘secret weapon’ to defy midterm history, protect GOP majorities
Guerrilla-like ‘ICE Watch’ groups backed by top, left-wing grantmakers
The awkward question that Josh Shapiro won’t answer
The frenetic charm of ‘Marty Supreme’
“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.
