Ruby Princess Coronavirus Class Action Takes Shape

Australian lawyers are investigating a class action on behalf of all 2700 passengers affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 on board the Ruby Princess, which docked in Sydney in March.

Shine Lawyers says the investigation will explore whether legal avenues exist to hold the Ruby Princess owners and operators, including Carnival Corporation, to account for “failing to safeguard and protect its passengers from the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19), despite allegedly having existing knowledge of the coronavirus contamination.”

Shine says the involvement of the relevant state and commonwealth authorities in the docking and disembarkation of the ship will also be explored.

The Ruby Princess cruise ship departed Circular Quay on 8 March 2020, and after an 11-day round trip to New Zealand, the ship docked in Sydney on Thursday 19 March.

“Despite the ship previously logging 158 cases of illness on an earlier voyage, all 2,700 passengers on board failed to be informed of this, and were permitted to disembark at Sydney’s Circular Quay and return to their homes. Since leaving the ship, over 440 people (a significant portion of the population’s cases) have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” Shine said in a statement.

Talking to the Guardian Australia, Shine NSW practice leader for class actions Vicky Antzoulatos said it was seeking information on why Carnival decided to actually run the cruise, given that the previous cruise had 158 instances of sickness.

“The ship was turned around in a matter of hours. It beggars belief that they could have sanitised the ship from top to bottom.”

“There is a massive issue about disclosure. If passengers had been told that the previous passengers were displaying symptoms consistent with coronavirus, would they have got on?”

“There are some very serious questions that have to be asked of the operators. They appear to have put profits before the safety of passengers. They also had the experience of the ship off the coast of Japan, so they would have been well aware of the risks.”

NSW police are also conducting a criminal investigation, which will likely yield more information and key facts relevant to the class action.

NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard has confirmed that he thinks it was a mistake to allow passengers to disembark.

If you are one of the 2,700 passengers of the Ruby Princess, you can register for the class action investigation here.