Passengers on a luxury New Year’s cruise around New Zealand and Australia have been stranded at sea for a week after ‘marine growth’ stuck to the crust, damaging the ecosystem.
According to the Australian government, divers were to remove “biofoul”, an accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae or small animals, from the 930-seat Viking Orion while it was anchored in international waters.
The Department of Fisheries explained in a statement to AFP that the cleanup was necessary to protect Australian waters from “harmful marine life”.
Viking Orion, a 2018-built nine-story building with a spa, theater, extensive play area and swimming pool, departed Auckland, New Zealand on December 23, but made no further stops after leaving the New Zealand capital, Wellington. Dec. 26, according to tracking website vesselfinder.com.
However, before Christchurch and Dunedin in New Zealand and Melbourne in Australia, stops were planned in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, Australia, where the ship docked on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the Viking Orion has been anchored in international waters off the Australian city of Adelaide and cleared, the observatory said.
Viking confirmed that “a certain amount of normal marine growth” must be removed from the crust.
“Although the vessel missed several stops along this route to allow for the necessary refinement, it should resume its current route,” Viking said in a statement to AFP.
“Viking is working directly with guests to compensate them for the impact on their travel,” the company said, declining to provide further details.
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