MSc magnifica off WA coast

[MicCanberra]

22 hours ago, nnps said:

Number of posts for Pushka and Blackduck. Not sure of relevance.

Me neither, I make mistakes, sometimes go off on tangents and also have opinions that others do not always agree with. 

As long as people here in the Aust/NZ forum remain discussing, or debating the issues and not arguing we will get along fine (unlike some other forums).

[boeckli]

I just listened to a radio interview with a German travel journalist who is on board the MSC Magnifica off Fremantle (I believe it was recorded on Friday).

 

Apparently the plan is for supplies etc they have ordered in Fremantle to be transported to them at the anchorage and then they will head to Europe via the Suez canal (where the plan is for Magnifica to take the place of one of the MSC cargo ships for the transit).

He thinks they will probably also bunker at Suez. Where in Europe they can land is at this stage seemingly unclear and probably will depend on the situation at the time. He expects it will take 15-16 days to get there.

 

[MMDown Under]

On 3/29/2020 at 3:58 PM, boeckli said:

I just listened to a radio interview with a German travel journalist who is on board the MSC Magnifica off Fremantle (I believe it was recorded on Friday).

 

Apparently the plan is for supplies etc they have ordered in Fremantle to be transported to them at the anchorage and then they will head to Europe via the Suez canal (where the plan is for Magnifica to take the place of one of the MSC cargo ships for the transit).

He thinks they will probably also bunker at Suez. Where in Europe they can land is at this stage seemingly unclear and probably will depend on the situation at the time. He expects it will take 15-16 days to get there.

 

That is interesting.  MSC has a huge advantage because it not only has a large cruise ship fleet, it has a large cargo ship fleet. 

[Blackduck59]

I hope that there were testing kits sent with the supplies, it just feels like the passengers aboard are still at risk. Assuming there is no disease on the ship this could be a great adventure. If they end up in isolation on board it's just a long voyage in a prison ship to an unknown and probably disease effected destination🤔.

For those at sea and in harms way..Godspeed. For those on land we are fortunate, with some vigilance this too will pass.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Magnifica has docked in Marseille today to complete her World Cruise

 

 

Covid 19 coronavirus: The 'last cruise ship on Earth' finally comes to port 
https://nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=12326283
 

[Ondine]

I posted  this link on the cruise "ship locations topic" about an hour ago.  Slightly longer article.  Good that they are back home but it makes it seem that all ships are home yet there are still thousands of crew aboard ships.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52350262

[Aus Traveller]

The story of the MSC Magnifica is another example of politicians getting the facts wrong (or in the case of the Ruby Princess, the Police Commissioner as well.) Here is part of the story about the Magnifica. The link is shown in 'Ondine's' post above.

 

(quote) When a cruise ship wants to dock, it must provide the port with medical records, to show there are no contagious diseases on board. As the Magnifica approached Fremantle in Western Australia, the records showed around 250 people had visited the medical room in the past two weeks. Many were for painkillers, or dressings - routine visits. Crucially, there was no sign of Covid-19 on board.

 

The Magnifica wanted only to refuel and resupply in Fremantle - not disembark. So, as he sailed up the coast, Captain Leotta was surprised to see the news conference from Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan "Currently more than 250 passengers [on the Magnifica] have reported upper respiratory illnesses," Mr McGowan announced. "This morning I have contacted the prime minister…I will not allow what happened in Sydney to happen here. "We will not allow passengers or crew to wander the streets. This is a non-negotiable position."

 

Somehow, Mr McGowan had the wrong information. Wires were crossed. The Magnifica was leading the news, when its passengers were healthy - and didn't want to get off anyway. The company insisted there were no respiratory diseases or flu symptoms on board. But Western Australia then accused MSC of "inconsistent advice" - something MSC denied.

 

Either way, when it arrived in Fremantle, the ship was greeted by the police and border force - to make sure no one got off - and a handful of protesters. "Let's say that was not nice," says Captain Leotta. "It was disappointing, first of all because it was fake news. It was wrong. And you can imagine, this news went all around the world immediately."

 

Despite the disagreement, the Magnifica was allowed to resupply in Fremantle, before heading onwards. But it would soon be in the headlines again. (end quote).

 

I have to ask - how can our politicians and other authorities get it so wrong? Why do they jump so quickly to judgement without getting the full facts? I feel a few of these cases show Australia and its governments in a poor light.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Aus Traveller

[OzKiwiJJ]

I think there has been the same "chinese whispers" effect around Ruby. The previous cruise reported 158 (?) visits to the medical centre which were then reported as 158 people with respiratory illnesses.

 

We don't know, and may not ever know, what the exchange was between the ship and whoever they spoke to when those ambulances were called but it could have happened something like this:

 

Ambos - "do you have any cases of covid-19 onboard?

 

Ship - " there are no confirmed cases of covid-19"

 

Ambos - "they don't have Covid-19 onboard"

 

Later this becomes "the ship claimed there were no issues with covid-19 onboard".

 

OK, that's just conjecture but I suspect it might be close to what happened. The game of chinese whispers always resulted in much hilarity when the original sentence was compare with the final one whispered.

[The_Big_M]

5 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I have to ask - how can our politicians and other authorities get it so wrong? Why do they jump so quickly to judgement without getting the full facts? I feel a few of these cases show Australia and its governments in a poor light.

 

They do... but a lot of people just refuse to believe it, either because it doesn't suit their political views, or because they just have complete belief in authority, or a bunch of other reasons.

 

Unfortunately it's the same rush to judgement fault that some politicians display - keen to display their opinion without concern for analysis and research to support that. Also the same belief that leads to the phrase "it's easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission" i.e. do what suits you, then if there's any fallout after worry about that then, when things can't be changed, so people just say "move on".