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At sea, cruise ships operate as extensions of a “flag state” and are beholden to the country’s laws where the vessel is located. This can create some interesting clashes as cruise ships like the Carnival Cruise vessel below travel the world.
Footage shows security guards from the Carnival Cruise vessel docked in Sydney, Australia refusing to allow safety officials from the Australian government onboard the ship to inspect it. It has led to more questions than answers.
Why Did Carnival Cruise Security Bar Safety Officials From Boarding?
The video below shows officials from SafeWork NSW and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) approaching the Carnival Cruise vessel. According to the NY Post, this confrontation follows reports of “allegations of misconduct against crew members.” Though it is unclear if the safety officials attempting to board the vessel were doing so in direct response to that or not.
As you can see, the security guards stop the government agents on the dock and prohibit them from inspecting anything onboard. Instead of calling for a superior or providing any additional information, they simply reiterate that they are following orders to “not to permit anyone on board.” That’s even after the officials brandished their governmental badge.
Not only does the security guard refuse them entry, he asks them to hit the bricks. Saying “do you guys understand? You’ve been formally advised that you won’t be attending the ship today so I respectfully ask you to leave.” That is when the official asks the reason they’re being barred from entry to inspect conditions and the only reason provided is ‘orders.’
At one point, union member Shane Reside can be heard saying “I don’t know what this company has got to hide but they set their entire squad of thugs down to refuse the state government inspectors from getting on board.”
All of this is incredibly suspicious. There are no conceivable reasons that Carnival Cruises should prohibit local government officials, in a country like Australia, from coming onboard the ship when it is parked in their harbor.
As reported in the Post, this all comes in the wake of allegations that workers onboard are not being provided safe drinking water and are being forced to work for just $2.50/hour.
Is this illegal?
According to MUA Sydney Branch Secretary Paul Keating Paul Keating, it is. Keating holds a Work Health and Safety permit and said “refusing entry to a WHS permit holder is not a technicality. It is a breach of NSW safety laws. Section 121 of the Act exists to protect workers from exactly this kind of corporate behavior.”
The penalty for refusing? A maximum fine of just under $75K. Presumably, given the circumstances, the incident did not end there and the WHS will pursue further action.