Fremantle port workers pictured boarding ships without masks interacting with crew

Fremantle Port workers have been photographed unloading cargo from an international ship without masks on and interacting with a foreign crew member.

The images of a number of Qube employees, taken at Fremantle Port on Sunday, appear to be in breach of WA’s COVID rules which require port workers to wear personal protective equipment when on board, or in close proximity, to a vessel.

One of the Qube workers photographed without their masks on at Fremantle Port at the weekend.Credit:MUA

The Maritime Union of Australia is calling for the logistic company’s stevedore license to be immediately suspended after taking the photographs.

MUA WA branch secretary Will Tracey described the actions as reckless.

“Our industry has worked tirelessly for 18 months to implement strict COVID controls that protect workers, the community and the industry â€" preventing a single case of ship to shore transmission during that time â€" yet Qube have now thrown all those efforts overboard,” he said.

“When Qube management decided to put unskilled, inexperienced people on this vessel without appropriate PPE, they risked the lives of those workers and threatened our entire community.

Qube workers at Fremantle Port on Sunday. Credit:MUA

“With a growing number of COVID outbreaks on vessels arriving in WA ports, there must be zero tolerance for companies that ignore the WA government’s exposed on-board worker directions.”

Under the directions, international crews are banned from disembarking their vessels and local port workers must wear a mask at all times and socially distance from crew members when on board.

If a worker does not adhere to these rules, they are considered an ‘exposed on-board worker’ and must quarantine for 14 days and present for COVID-19 testing.

The leaked photos come as the MUA and Qube have been at loggerheads in a protected bargaining dispute in recent weeks, with the union taking action over what it claims are “critical safety concerns” and worker fatigue violations.

WA has managed COVID-19 outbreaks aboard six international ships since the pandemic began.

The MV Ken Hou, docked at Fremantle, currently has 20 out of its 22 crew infected with COVID-19.

The canola grain ship was last in port at Thailand on August 7 and had been due to dock at Albany over the weekend before crew started reporting COVID-like symptoms.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said what happened next would depend on health advice and the condition of the crew.

“Whether they can isolate on board, whether they’re well enough to run the ship systems and the like,” he said.

Mr McGowan announced new rules in July to protect WA from international ships arriving from high-risk countries, such as Indonesia.

Crews changes are no longer allowed, and any port worker who boards a ship must wear appropriate PPE and be tested for COVID-19 under a surveillance program.

Qube has been contacted for comment.

WA Police is yet to confirm whether the incident is being investigated.

Heather McNeill is a senior journalist at WAtoday.

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