Workers at Port of Tauranga are expressing concern for themselves and their whanau following the news on Saturday of positive Covid-19 cases on board a ship berthed at port.

On Saturday, January 30, the Ministry of Health reported that three of the eight new cases in the Bay of Plenty were on board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Bogor container ship, which had been under quarantine at the Port of Tauranga.

The ship arrived in port on Friday morning.

Some of the 25 crew were experiencing Covid-like illness.

Testing returned three positive results in the 24 hour period to midnight on Friday night.

The Ministry of Health says that no one was allowed off the ship.

'Testing was carried out following strict infection, prevention and control guidelines,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'The vessel has been managed by the Port to ensure that the risk from crew has been effectively managed, and the ship was due to leave port on Sunday.”

Port workers are expressing concern about going on board to carry out their work when crew members are positive for Covid-19.

'Some of us were told about this on Friday and told other workers. When the boss was approached on Saturday and asked to clarify the information of the Covid cases, that's when we all heard about it, that was midday on Saturday,” says a port worker.

'Not a lot of advice was given in the meeting regarding the positive case on the ship, just that they are isolated and the rest of the crew will be on the star-board side while the port workers worked on the port side unmasked. In a couple of instances, the port workers had to stop because the ship's crew were on the wrong side.”

'The workers didn't hear about the previous incident with the positive case from their employer who knew about it, they actually read it in the paper the day after so you can see how we are quite concerned regarding this situation,” says the port worker.

The worker also says the Covid incidents were 'talked down” as not being a big deal.

'Last time this happened, they had a meeting where they stated that they have to look after their customers, and one worker said ‘what about our families?' My workmate was told if you don't like it leave and find another job,” says the port worker.

'There is a lot of lack of communication between the company and port workers with Covid information. The company's focus are the customers and not so much the workers as they can be replaced with more crew who are on the books.

'Customs mentioned there were six positive cases which was conflicting with the Ministry of Health information so you can see where the workers were a bit concerned regarding the information they read and what they are told.”

A Port of Tauranga spokesperson says measures were in place to keep Port of Tauranga workers safe while the vessel Maersk Bogor was in port and that workers were expected to go on board to carry out their usual work.

'There is contactless cargo operations going on so that workers are kept completely separate from the ship's crew,” says the spokesperson.

'The captain reported that some crew members had mild symptoms before the ship arrived in port, so we knew that testing was going to be carried out when it arrived.

'We treat all vessels as though they have Covid-19 on board and follow necessary precautions as advised by Ministry of Health and ensure Customs are there as well to implement those precautions.”
The spokesperson says that a briefing is given to port workers before the start of each shift.

'All work is supervised by Customs and Customs officers go on board to ensure that workers and crew are kept separated.”

They say that no workers are at risk of losing their job should they not wish to participate in their normal work going on board a ship with positive Covid-19 cases berthed at Port of Tauranga.

'They are given the opportunity not to work,” says the port spokesperson.

A Ministry of Health spokesperson says the Maritime Border Order contains standard measures for all vessels arriving to New Zealand in order to protect those who work on and around these ships, including strict limits on who may board ships which people are isolating on.

'For those who are permitted to board, PPE guidance is provided by Maritime New Zealand, as the regulators for work undertaken on ships in New Zealand,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'The Maritime Border Order also requires social distancing, and that time spent on board is as limited as possible.”

Port workers spoken to by SunLive say that 'after the ship was finished the safety measures went back to normal”. The Maersk Bogor was in port for two days, leaving Tauranga at 10.17pm on January 29 heading to Sydney.

'But there is no consistency of safety precautions with every ship, it's only when we hear about the cases that the precautions are applied again,” says a port worker.

The Port of Tauranga spokesperson says all port workers are required to be vaccinated for their jobs.

'And they have to receive their booster dose by February 15.”

Anyone experiencing symptoms are advised to check the Healthpoint website for Covid testing information.