Hundreds of passengers have been stranded for seven days on a cruise ship off the coast of Australia due to an epidemic of fungi that exploded on the hull and described by experts as “potentially dangerous”. According to various media, the Viking Orion with 800 passengers on board was denied permission to dock in several ports causing the wrath of those on board: the ship was bound for Sydney to Auckland and then was supposed to stop in New Zealand, but she was prevented from entering first Wellington and then Christchurch.
The fisheries department said the fungus, called biofoul, was “potentially harmful” and that the vessel must be cleaned before it can dock. Biofoul is an accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae and can allow the importation of invasive species into non-native habitats. The department says the ship needs to be cleaned to prevent “harmful marine organisms being carried” into Australian waters. “Professional divers have been engaged directly by the company to clean the hull while it is still outside Australian waters,” the department says. The vessel is due to dock tonight in Melbourne.