Cruise ship refused port entry due to hull fouling

Port calls in a Christmas cruise around New Zealand and South Australia were aborted due to the level of fouling on the hull.

According to media reports from Australia, Viking Ocean’s cruise ship Viking Orion left Wellington, New Zealand on Boxing Day (26 December 2022) for port calls in Australia.

The National Maritime Coordination Centre of Australia refused permission for the vessel to call at the next Australian ports on the schedule until the vessel had the hull cleaned by divers outside of Australian waters.

According to social media issued by passengers on the vessel, four ports were skipped and some passengers had not been off the vessel for seven days.

Viking Ocean Cruise apologised to passengers and is organising compensation.

In 2022, Viking Ocean Cruise was voted Number One in the Condé Nast Traveler: The Top Cruise Lines in the World: 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards.