Fremantle port workers may have been exposed to the virus when they boarded the infected Al Kuwait that had apparently been cleared by a federal department to dock, despite knowing some of the crew members were ill.
Now questions are being asked why the ship was allowed to dock at an Australian port during a global pandemic.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said he never knew about the ship and Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud insisted there was no concern for the crew.
Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said a report from the ship was submitted to the federal Department of Agriculture advising some of the crew had fevers on Wednesday.
It was en route from the United Arab Emirates and the ship arrived in Western Australia two days later.
The Department of Agriculture said it had been told three of the crew were ill, but none of them had elevated temperatures or coronavirus symptoms before their arrival.
It only learnt crew members had fevers when they landed and immediately notified the West Australian health department, it said.
“The WA State Department of Health is responsible for the management of this incident, including all decisions relating to human health,” the federal department said in a statement.
“The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is confident that government protocols were met.”
No crew members were permitted to disembark and all federal department staff who attended the vessel wore full personal protective equipment.
The state government said its public health emergency operations centre received an email on Friday morning informing it three ill crew members had a temperature.
But it explicitly stated no concern for coronavirus on the vessel and no respiratory illness present, along with making no request for assistance.
“The Human Biosecurity Officer was also not notified there was any issue of concern,” the state government said in a statement.
Dawson said the Fremantle Port Authority did not know crew were ill until after the local workers went on board the ship.
McGowan said he was concerned for the local workers and their families.
“We would have hoped that more red flags were raised that there were people who were sick on board so we could have been prepared,” he said on Tuesday.
McGowan said he didn’t think information was deliberately withheld “but we certainly need to review the protocols”.
The port workers are being isolated and contact tracing is under way while the six crew who tested positive are being quarantined at a Perth hotel.
The remaining 42 are well and remain on board the vessel.
