The lead plaintiff of an Australian class action over the
outbreak of Covid-19 on the cruise ship Ruby Princess (IMO 9378462) in
March 2020 has told a Sydney court that she thought Princess Cruise Line and
the brand’s owner Carnival Corp would have introduced infection-control
measures after there had been Covid-related deaths on the Diamond Princess.
More than 660 people tested positive for COVID-19 after
the Ruby Princess cruise and 28 people died. The class action alleges that
Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises breached their duties of care.
Defending counsel has stated that passengers knew, or
were presumed to have known, the risks of catching Covid-19 when on the cruise.
Susan Karpik and her husband Henry, representative
plaintiffs in the Australian Federal Court case, were among more than 660
people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the weeks after the ship interrupted
its journey to New Zealand and returned directly to Sydney following signs of
illness on board.
Carnival Cruise Line — the charterer of the vessel — and
Princess Cruises, its owner and operator, are accused of breaching their duties
of care and Australian Consumer Law.
On being cross-examined about her awareness of the Covid risk
prior to boarding the Ruby Princess on March 8th 2020, Mrs Karpik agreed
that, by that time, she was aware several passengers had died during an
outbreak on the Karpiak Diamond Princess, which had “a lot” of cases
on board. However she said that she was expecting to have been informed if
there was any risk of Covid-19 being present on the Ruby Princess.
Mrs Karpik was asked whether she and her husband decided
to go on the cruise, accepting that there was a risk either or both of them
would be infected with Covid-19. She replied: “Yes, probably much the same
as if we were shopping in a busy shopping centre, or whatever. The risk is
always there”.
However, she later seemed to retract, saying she thought
the question was referring to conditions such as influenza. She said that Covid-19
was an “unknown” at the time and, given what happened on the Diamond
Princess, she assumed there would be “some form of vigorous screening”.
The trial continues.
2008-built, Bermuda-flagged, 113,561 gt Ruby Princess is
owned and managed by Princess Cruise Lines Ltd of Valencia, CA, USA. It is
entered with Steamship Mutual and with UK Club.
