Biofoul, a frequent buildup of bacteria, plants, algae, or small animals, has been removed through hull cleaning.
Passengers on a cruise ship have been stranded at sea for nearly a week due to the discovery of “biofoul” growth on the hull. With Australian officials rejecting permission for the ship to dock.
Officials report that hundreds of vacationers are on board the ship. Which is around 12 nautical miles from the Port of Adelaide and outside the Australian seas.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries. And Forestry told that the vessel was required to undergo hull cleaning to remove biofoul – a common accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals – and prevent potentially harmful marine organisms from being transported into Australia.
Viking Orion cruise ship
According to the ship monitoring service Vessel Finder. The Viking Orion cruise ship has been at sea for about a week. Since it left the port of Wellington on December 26.
The DAFF stated that it was informed of the presence of tiny amounts of biofoul on the vessel on 28 December. And that it had engaged the vessel and the Australian marine biosecurity unit to comply with normal biofoul management protocols.
It was stated that professional divers were hired directly by the vessel line to clean the hull. While the vessel was at anchor outside of Australian seas.
Australian officials said that management of biofouling is a normal practice for all arriving vessels.
The ship is due to port in Melbourne today. According to the department, however, the exact arrival time is up to the vessel agent.
Tweets from individuals claiming to be on board the Viking Orion indicate the vessel may not dock in Melbourne.
“And this morning’s news is that the captain has canceled our next stop in Melbourne.” People are enraged… Another day at sea with two boats washing the ship’s hull,” remarked Kenn Heydrick on January 1.
Dr. Megan Remmel, another Twitter who claimed to be on board. He tweeted on the morning of 1 January that passengers “can no longer exit in Melbourne. This means that we have missed four ports and will be confined on the ship for nearly nine days.”
According to Viking, the ship is scheduled to dock on January 2
“The Viking Orion is planned to arrive in Melbourne, Australia on January 2 (local time). Following the customary cleaning of a small quantity of normal marine vegetation from the ship’s hull.
“Although the ship had to skip several stops on this itinerary to complete the necessary cleaning. She is expected to resume the current itinerary,” a spokesperson said.
“Viking is working directly with guests to determine appropriate compensation for the disruption to their voyage.”
