Mid West Ports Authority to prepare for the arrival of cruise ships in Geraldton this year

Almost two years after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cruise industry to run aground, Geraldton Port is preparing for the revival of the popular tourism experience. Cruise ships quickly became virus hotspots, which carried COVID-19 to West Australian shores in 2020, with eight of Australia’s pandemic deaths involving people who became infected while cruising. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt in December extended restrictions on international cruise ships entering Australian waters, with the ban to be reviewed monthly. Mid West Ports Authority acting chief executive Damian Tully said Geraldton Port would be ready for when the vessels were permitted to return to the region. “We will be looking at doing a safe return to cruises under a controlled environment,” he said. “We have already done a risk assessment on how we would do it and what controls would be in place for those cruise ships and their passengers.” Mr Tully said intrastate cruises were already back in action, but border restrictions had reduced the number of vessels arriving from outside of WA. “We are seeing some cruise ships operating out of WA — mainly in Broome and the Kimberley — and when the border restrictions weren’t as tight, we did see vessels coming in from South Australia,” he said. Businesses like P&O Cruises are already requiring staff and passengers to provide proof of vaccination, with additional health measures introduced in the wake of the pandemic. Mr Tully said confirming the vaccination status of all who arrive at Geraldton Port would mean more work for staff, but that workers were prepared for this. “We already get health checks from every vessel as they arrive in Geraldton,” he said. “When those cruise ships do arrive, there will be a little bit of extra work because of the sheer numbers on board, but it doesn’t worry us to do those additional checks. “We want to make sure we are safeguarding our people as well as our community and providing the opportunity for local businesses to show off Geraldton to the passengers when they arrive.” Mr Tully said it was difficult to measure how the absence of cruise arrivals has affected the local community, but he confirmed the industry was a valuable source of income for the region. “We recently did a survey and 89 per cent of businesses saw cruise ships as being important or very important to the Mid West,” he said. “These opportunities when the cruise ships do come in are used as a great supplement, especially to those smaller businesses.” While some may be reluctant to book a cruise when WA’s hard border goes down on February 5, Mr Tully said experts were predicting the industry would bounce back from the pandemic. “The Australian Cruise Association has done research, which has shown cruises are going to bounce back even bigger and better than before,” he said. “People do miss their cruising and (the ACA) does not see (the pandemic) having a long-term impact on the market.” Mr Tully said Geraldton would “embrace” cruise arrivals when they return, but he assured locals this would be done in a safe and healthy way. “We are making sure we are keeping our own people safe, the community safe and that we try and keep businesses running and the ports running no matter what happens,” he said.