National

Cruise ship ban to end on April 17

By AAP Newswire

Mar 15, 2022

The Ruby Princess cruise ship — Cruise ships will be able to return to Australia from April 17. -AAP Image

Cruise ships will be able to return to Australia from April 17 with the government not renewing a ban that has been in place on the large vessels since March 2020.

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Additional safety measures are being put in place to mitigate the risks, including a double vaccination requirement, enhanced pre-arrival reporting and risk identification, and stress testing their emergency response systems.

Health Minister Greg Hunt says the decision to let the current embargo lapse on April 17 is based on health advice.

"(The) lifting the cruise ban is consistent with the reopening of Australia's international border and shows that we have successfully navigated Australia's emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Mr Hunt said.

International cruise ships will need to meet all state and territory public health requirements with state and territories to advise the Commonwealth when they're ready to receive cruise ships.

More than 600,000 passengers across almost 350 ships arrived in Australia in 2019 before the pandemic.

More than 94 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over are double vaccinated and over 12 million have had a third dose.