Coronavirus-hit cruise ship Artania finally departs Western Australia

   April 18, 2020 ,   Accidents

The Phoenix Reisen-chartered cruise liner Artania (shipowner is Artania Shipping Company GmbH) started its journey back home from WA.

The vessel was berthed in Port Fremantle (Perth City, Western Australia) for 3+ weeks, having secured an additional 2-week dockside quarantine period. A total of 79 passengers and crew from Artania tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Western Australia.

A 42-year-old male crew (from The Philippines) died in a hospital in Perth WA on Thursday, April 16, taking the death toll of the state to 7. According to Artania's Captain, Morten Hansen, the crew had been with the company since 2006 and most recently served as a motorman (engine room crew).

He said the vessel was scheduled to depart at 1:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, April 18, and she left on time with a horn's blow. Earlier on Saturday, 4 buses with a police escort transferred nearly 50 crew from the ship to a Perth hotel. Arrangements had been made to fly the crew home on a private plane on Sunday.

Artania cruise ship

Two other people from Artania died last week - a passenger aged in his 70s and a 69-year-old crewman.

A total of 219 of WA's 541 Coronavirus cases have been among people linked to cruise ships.

For other Artania accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.

For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.