Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of passengers were left stranded on a cruise ship off the Australian coast following the discovery of a potentially harmful marine growth on its hull.
The Viking Orion was reportedly not allowed to dock in Adelaide after officials found “biofoul” – an accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals — on its hull
Divers had to remove the biofoul build-up from the ship while it was anchored in international waters, the Australian government said. The country’s fisheries department told AFP that the cleaning was needed to protect Australia’s waters from “potentially harmful marine organisms.”
The nine-deck luxury cruise ship, which was built in 2018, has a spa, theatre, sports deck and pool. It left Auckland on December 23, according to tracking website vesselfinder.com. The ship made no port calls since it left the New Zealand capital, Wellington, on December 26 – missing stops in Christchurch, Dunedin and the Tasmanian state capital of Hobart, said the website.
“While the liner had to miss several stops on this itinerary for the required cleaning to be conducted, the ship is expected to resume the current itinerary,” Viking’s operator told AFP.
“Viking is working directly with guests on compensation for the impact to their voyage,” he added.
Viking Orion expected to arrive in Melbourne on Tuesday: officials
The ship was expected to arrive in Melbourne later on Tuesday after being cleaned in international waters off Adelaide, the company and the Australian government said.
The cruise liner confirmed that “a limited amount of standard marine growth” had to be removed from the hull.
Biofouling, a biofilm problem, is mostly caused by micro-organisms that can contaminate the water, cover and block surfaces, host pathogens, and attack their support.
