Coral Princess Trouble?

[seagunthera]

I just read that the Coral may have hit something (rumor is a whale or container off a ship) and is now missing a port and headed in for a 24 hour "hull cleaning".  Anyone know more/the truth? She is east of Brisbane en route to New Zealand I believe. 

[startedwithamouse]

38 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

I just read that the Coral may have hit something (rumor is a whale or container off a ship) and is now missing a port and headed in for a 24 hour "hull cleaning".  Anyone know more/the truth? She is east of Brisbane en route to New Zealand I believe. 

What news source?

[capriccio]

Nothing posted on the Australian and New Zealand Cruisers board as of 11 pm:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/564-australia-new-zealand-cruisers/

 

 

[seagunthera]

Another Princess forum.

 

[capriccio]

Here's the thread on the Australian and New Zealand Cruisers board: 

There's a copy of the Captain's letter but no one posting from the ship yet.

[AZjohn]

Agree with one of the posters on the other thread that this sounds more like a "patching" job than a "cleaning" job 😯

Edited December 20, 2022 by AZjohn

[geocruiser]

I would think that a hull cleaning would be on some sort of a regular schedule, not done mid cruise.

Do they have divers on board?

[mjmalino]

One one of the Princess passenger facebook pages someone said that they fell/heard a jolt in the middle of the night, and the next morning the announcement was made. Another passenger said that they didn't feel/hear anything. Anyway, there was some discussion that many believe that the ship hit something.

[mnocket]

2 hours ago, geocruiser said:

I would think that a hull cleaning would be on some sort of a regular schedule, not done mid cruise.

Do they have divers on board?

I would agree.  Seems to me Princess isn't being exactly upfront about this.

[Guest ldtr]

since they are stating that it is a requirement from NZ I would expect that it may be based on where the ship had been sailing or time since last cleaning, to prevent a potentially invasive marine species from being carried into NZ ports.

 

The real question is how this requirement might have been missed and not performed prior to embarkation, since such requirements are not new.

 

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/import/border-clearance/ships-and-boats-border-clearance/biofouling/biofouling-management/#:~:text=For long-stay vessels%2C the,barnacles and a slime layer.

[chengkp75]

20 minutes ago, ldtr said:

since they are stating that it is a requirement from NZ I would expect that it may be based on where the ship had been sailing or time since last cleaning, to prevent a potentially invasive marine species from being carried into NZ ports.

 

The real question is how this requirement might have been missed and not performed prior to embarkation, since such requirements are not new.

 

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/import/border-clearance/ships-and-boats-border-clearance/biofouling/biofouling-management/#:~:text=For long-stay vessels%2C the,barnacles and a slime layer.

I think you are correct.  However, the ability to do a hull cleaning is limited in that many ports do not allow this, as it can release toxins (the anti-fouling ingredient in the paint) into the water.  There are companies that do a full recovery of cleanings, but not sure their availability in Aus/NZ ports.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

I think you are correct.  However, the ability to do a hull cleaning is limited in that many ports do not allow this, as it can release toxins (the anti-fouling ingredient in the paint) into the water.  There are companies that do a full recovery of cleanings, but not sure their availability in Aus/NZ ports.

Considering that NZ has had such requirements for a while, and the cruise lines have experience sailing into those waters one would think that they would have a system in place for getting the cleaning done with out the disruption that has occured in this case.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

Seems to me Princess isn't being exactly upfront about this.

What?... Surely you jest!? 😄

[chengkp75]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Considering that NZ has had such requirements for a while, and the cruise lines have experience sailing into those waters one would think that they would have a system in place for getting the cleaning done with out the disruption that has occured in this case.

The cleaning must be done less than 30 days prior to arrival in NZ (or within 24 hours after arrival), but without any knowledge of the ship's prior itineraries, and logistical arrangements wherever the ship has been, can't say whether or not they could have done this prior.

[louden]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

The cleaning must be done less than 30 days prior to arrival in NZ (or within 24 hours after arrival), but without any knowledge of the ship's prior itineraries, and logistical arrangements wherever the ship has been, can't say whether or not they could have done this prior.

 

[louden]

This fall when we sailed  from LA to Sydney the hull was cleaned  in Tahiti prior to arriving in NZ.  Divers as descibed were present.

 

Louden

[azbirdmom]

18 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The cleaning must be done less than 30 days prior to arrival in NZ (or within 24 hours after arrival), but without any knowledge of the ship's prior itineraries, and logistical arrangements wherever the ship has been, can't say whether or not they could have done this prior.

 

According to this newspaper in Dunedin NZ it's snails that are causing the problem.  Note this seems to be behind a paywall but from what I can see the cleaning is for environmental reasons https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/otago-daily-times/20221221/281526525115892

 

 

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

According to this newspaper in Dunedin NZ it's snails that are causing the problem.  Note this seems to be behind a paywall but from what I can see the cleaning is for environmental reasons https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/otago-daily-times/20221221/281526525115892

 

 

This is a huge issue across the entire maritime industry, with the introduction of non-native species carried by ships.  It also mentions that the problem has been identified in the "discharge pipes", or where the sea water cooling is discharged from the ship.  This could complicate the process greatly, as this will require even more specialized tools than a hull cleaning.

[sweetp12]

Sneaky snails cause cruise ship to bypass Milford, Dunedin

 

• Otago Daily Times
• 21 Dec 2022
• HAMISH MACLEAN hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz

STOWAWAY snails discovered on a cruise ship have scuppered the plans of about 2000 visitors heading to Dunedin for a Christmas break.

Coral Princess left Brisbane and was due in Fiordland on Friday before a Christmas Eve visit to Dunedin.

Both stops have been cancelled and instead divers will clean the ship’s hull at sea to rid it of the nonnative molluscs discovered in the ship’s discharge pipes.

Marjorie Walkley, of Auckland, who is a passenger on board, said despite being offered an onboard credit of $100 and a 15% discount on her next cruise, those she had spoken to on the ship were very disappointed.

This was her 15th cruise and it was the first time she had encountered any problems.

Along with her husband she was cruising over the holidays to see ‘‘my own country from the coast and especially Fiordland’’.

The Walkleys embarked in Auckland on December 15 and carried on to Brisbane, where the boat departed yesterday.

Mrs Walkley said she did not blame Princess Cruises, which would suffer financially.

Biosecurity New Zealand environmental health manager Paul Hallett said staff were working closely with the cruise ship’s operators to help them meet New Zealand’s biofouling requirements.

The requirements prevented vessels from bringing exotic species, pests and diseases into the country, Mr Hallett said.

‘‘Vessels are allowed to enter New Zealand if they can show they meet our standards.

‘‘We know that nearly 90% of marine pests arrive in this country on the submerged surfaces of international vessels and we have some of the highest biofouling standards in the world.

‘‘The standards were introduced in 2018 and vessel operators know they must meet them or risk not being able to enter our waters or unique areas during their journey.’’

A total of 6121 international vessels arrived in New Zealand from January 1, 2020, to September this year.

Of these, 6% (377) were issued a notice of direction to address biofouling issues, he said.

Highrisk organisms associated with biofouling included bivalves, such as mussels and oysters, foliose algae, hydroids, tunicates, sponges, and mobile organisms, such as crabs and starfish, he said.

A Princess Cruises spokeswoman said the additional hull cleaning ahead of Coral Princess’s arrival in New Zealand was a measure to remove the exotic molluscs so there was no unintended transfer in the particularly sensitive areas of New Zealand the ship was visiting.

While present circumstances were rare, they did occur from time to time and despite changes to the itinerary, service and activities on board remained the same, the spokeswoman said.

‘‘In lieu of travelling to Fiordland and Dunedin, guests will now spend an a few extra days at sea before spending Christmas in Christchurch as scheduled.

‘‘Coral Princess will still visit scheduled destinations, including Wellington, Napier, Tauranga and Auckland.

‘‘We thank our guests for their understanding and look forward to celebrating Christmas in Christchurch.’’

REPORT REGIONS YESTERDAY p23 p9

[caribill]

On 12/19/2022 at 10:17 PM, capriccio said:

Nothing posted on the Australian and New Zealand Cruisers board as of 11 pm:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/564-australia-new-zealand-cruisers/

 

 

 

 

From another thread

 

32 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

What a dismal c%^k-up. I would be gutted and absolutely wild at Princess if I was onboard! 2 ports missed.. and turning up at another on X-mas day when everything is shut! What a shambles!  

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/130847298/cruise-ship-too-dirty-for-milford-sound-after-sea-snails-found