Despite P&O Cruises Australia saying the cleaning required for the Pacific Adventure cruise ship to enter NZ was “minor”, Biosecurity New Zealand’s northern regional commissioner Mike Inglis says biofouling continues to be a major biosecurity threat for the country.

“Our biosecurity rules are in place to protect us against pests such as exotic caulpera which can impact New Zealand's environment, unique marine ecosystems, aquaculture industry, and economy," says Mike.

“We know that almost 90 per cent of the exotic marine species already in New Zealand likely arrived here as marine growth on the submerged surfaces of international vessels.”

Passengers on board the cruise ship are furious with P&O Cruises over the decision to turn Pacific Adventure away from New Zealand and return to Australia due to the failure to meet NZ’s strict biosecurity requirements. The ship is currently at sea until it arrives in Hobart on November 28.

The Pacific Adventure. Photo: Sean McGrady.

Despite the cruise ship company offering compensation, passengers, some who have spent thousands of dollars on the cruise, have taken to social media to voice their complaints.

“I completely understand nothing is 100 per cent, but missing two ports and missing the whole NZ are totally different stories. Just like you had your dinner but still hungry, we never have our dinner, we were just at the door, paid full. How do we get the money back? According to P&O: Come next time, pay full again, and you will eat 2 dinners,” writes one passenger.

A Facebook group for the cruise has had its name changed to 'Pacific Adventure V353 Hobart via NZ waters 20th Nov 2023' with passengers cheering each other up with sharing their activities on board.

P&O Cruises Australia runs a 13-day "Kiwi Adventure" voyage, taking passengers from Sydney, sailing around New Zealand and stopping at different cities.

In a statement to SunLive, the company says Pacific Adventure’s itinerary has changed and “unfortunately guests on this current voyage will no longer be visiting New Zealand”.

The ship left Sydney for hull cleaning off the Bay of Plenty, but unfortunately the weather didn’t allow this to happen.

P&O Cruises Australia say that “the cleaning that was required for Pacific Adventure to enter New Zealand was minor – the removal of three juvenile mussels and a single hydroid commonly known as lace coral”.

“Conditions for diving off the Bay of Plenty were worse than forecast, meaning we could only safely complete part of the required cleaning.

“The ship had undergone multiple inspections in the months leading up to this New Zealand cruise, however it was only during the final inspection that the high-risk species was located and unfortunately, the change to the forecast weather conditions has not been in our favour to be able to remove it.

“As a result, the ship could not meet the very strict New Zealand entry requirements.”

Mike says the operator did attempt to clean the hull and specifically the areas of concern in recent days, however, abandoned cleaning due to bad weather and chose to cancel the New Zealand leg of the journey.

“We have been talking with the cruise ship’s operator P&O over the past few weeks around their planned voyage from Australia to New Zealand and concerning levels of biofouling on the vessel the Pacific Adventure,” says Mike.

“The photos they sent us showed the vessel had high risk organisms including mussel and oyster growth and could pose a risk to New Zealand if the ship cruised in our waters.”

Mike says there has been a lot of effort since the last season to alert cruise lines about their biosecurity requirements, including ensuring they comply with New Zealand’s biofouling rules.

“Biosecurity New Zealand staff visited Sydney earlier in the year and met with Carnival to reinforce our requirements and has continued to meet and engage regularly with the cruise operator and others in preparation for the new season.”

“We’ve been working closely with cruise lines to ensure their vessels arrive with clean hulls this summer season.

“To help manage the risk we've been asking cruise lines to submit all their documentation and risk management plans as early as possible so we can provide early notification of any cleaning requirements, helping avoid voyage delays.

“We appreciate that cleaning the hull of a cruise ship is a difficult and complex task often dictated by the weather. We need to all we can to protect New Zealand from biosecurity threats.”

In a statement to SunLive, P&O Cruises Australia are advising a change to the compensation for guests on board Pacific Adventure, after the ship was unable to visit New Zealand.

“We have listened to the feedback from our guests and understand not all of them wish to cruise with us again,” says a P&O Cruises Australia spokesperson.

“The 50 per cent Future Cruise Credit already offered will be converted to a refund.

“The $300 per person on board credit remains.

“Again, we apologise for the change in itinerary, and thank our guests for their patience and understanding.”

The updated itinerary means that the ship is at sea from Saturday November 25- 28 when it arrives in Hobart for an overnight visit. It then heads to Port Arthur, another night at sea, then Eden and finally arriving in Sydney on December 3.