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The Viking Orion on a 14-day, port-intensive cruise which began in Auckland, New Zealand on 22 December and is scheduled to conclude in Sydney, Australia on 04 January has been barred from entering multiple ports due to poor hull maintenance.
According to the BBC, an inspection of the ships hull resulted in the discovery of accumulated microorganisms and the ship was declared “biofouled.”
The ship had been barred from entering the ports of Christchurch and Dunedin in New Zealand and Hobart, Tasmania. Prior to arrival in Sydney, the ship anchored some 17 miles off shore and engaged a contract dive team to clean the hull of the ship to the satisfaction of the Australian fisheries department so as to allow the ship to dock in an Australian port.
On 02 January the ship briefly docked in Melbourne, and then departed enroute to its final destination of Sydney, scheduled to arrive on 04 January.
Travelers on board the Viking Orion found themselves confined to the ship from 26 December through 02 January due to the poor maintenance of the hull by the Viking cruise line.
