DARWIN, Australia — A group of Darwin wharfies from Australia’s Northern Territory forced into Covid-19 quarantine at Howard Springs after allegedly uploading a foreign ship without adequate personal protection equipment have launched a bid for early release.
Their employer, a stevedoring company Linx Cargo Care Group, attempted to win the 13 men’s release in the Northern Territory Local Court, where it’s challenging Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie‘s order.
But their application was on June 18 rejected by Judge John Neil, who said he was satisfied Heggie had made the correct decision.
Lawyers for the Maritime Union of Australia on June 22 wrote to Northern Territory Health seeking the mens’ immediate release, saying Western Australian authorities failed to find evidence of Covid-19 on board the Tacoma Trader cargo vessel, which sparked their detention.
The Tacoma sailed from Darwin on June 24 bound for Port Hedland, where it has unloaded more cargo containers.
Before that, a group of port workers that helped unload the ship were directed to 14 days’ mandatory supervised quarantine on June 11 after allegedly unloading the Tacoma, which sailed from Singapore on June 5, without using the correct Personal Protection Equipment.
The Maritime Union of Australia said Northern Territory Health failed to test Tacoma’s crew for Covid-19 before or after detaining the port workers but independent Covid-19 testing on June 17 found it was not infected with the virus.
The union is now also examining options for a legal challenge against the Northern Territory government, arguing that there are no reasonable grounds for their ongoing detention.
“It is the union’s position that following the negative Covid-19 tests from the crew of the vessel at the center of this alleged biosecurity breach, there are no longer any reasonable grounds to justify the ongoing detention of these workers,” Maritime Union of Australia assistant national secretary Adrian Evans said.
“When Northern Territory Health made the decision to throw these workers in quarantine detention, they didn’t know whether there was Covid-19 onboard this vessel, but now that we have the clear evidence that there was not, there is no justification for keeping them locked up.
“Our lawyers have requested the chief health officer issue directions enabling the immediate release of our members.
Evans said the Tacoma was scheduled to return to Darwin later this week, but inconsistent and unclear directions from Northern Territory Health threatened to further delay it.
Northern Territory Health was criticized in the court case for its handling of the situation, claiming it was an overreaction and workers were wearing Personal Protection Equipment and observing the same safety plans as for each vessel arrival for more than 14 months.
Tacoma’s operator alleges that the department, which is required to do so for international seafarers, refused to conduct Covid tests on crew members.
(Edited by Vaibhav Vishwanath Pawar and Nikita Nikhil. Map by Urvashi Makwana)
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