Queen Elizabeth Position

[Ray66]

 

Here's a link to Southampton VTS showing 5th June

 

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

Edited April 7, 2020 by Ray66

[Ray66]

54 minutes ago, Austcruiser84 said:

The full bench of the Federal Court sits in less than 12 hours' time to decide the fate of all ships. The government might get overruled. QE is said to have no cases of the virus onboard and it is making very slow speed presently with no clear destination. I suspect Cunard has given orders to go slow ahead and see what decision the Federal Court hands down (in relation to an APT ship in Darwin, but a decision will influence fate of all foreign owned cruise ships in Australian waters). If the court rules against the government I suspect Cunard will keep QE in Australian waters.

 

If not, then she will sail immediately for Southampton via South America. Return via South Africa is no longer possible due to total ban on cruise ships in recent days. The Panama Canal is possible if there are no cases of COVID onboard (which is the case presently), but a voyage around the southern tip of South America is possible. There are still many countries that have yet to impose any bans so QE could conceivably dock for refuelling and resupplying. She'd still be able to do the same out of Fort Lauderdale before a southerly course across the Atlantic to Southampton. The June 5 date mentioned in an earlier post would fit with a journey from Brisbane to Southampton via South America. 

 

 

 

Here's a good article that explains it all. 900 crew still onboard apparently.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/coronavirus-legal-action-could-undo-government-order-that-cruise-ships-leave-australian-waters

[DaisyDancer]

According to a crew member on Facebook the QE is en route to Manila. 

[Trevor33]

If on the way to Manilla they must have been given  consent to off load a lot of the crew from there, though I thought it was a closed port at this time.

[bluemarble]

After sailing north since leaving Brisbane yesterday, QE has turned around and is heading back toward the south at the moment.

[bluemarble]

QE has turned and has been sailing due west for the past half hour or so (at about 10.5-11 knots). She's keeping us guessing. Will continue to keep an eye on her.

Edited April 8, 2020 by bluemarble

[bluemarble]

OK, QE is now back to heading north. Looks like she basically just sailed in a big circle the past 5 hours or so. Maybe something to do with waiting out that court decision that could allow her to stay in Australian waters? Haven't seen a follow-up about that court case yet.

[sfred]

Thanks bluemarble.  I did a google search this morning, but did not find any reports yet on an ourcome of the APT Travel Group's federal court action. 

[bluemarble]

31 minutes ago, sfred said:

Thanks bluemarble.  I did a google search this morning, but did not find any reports yet on an ourcome of the APT Travel Group's federal court action. 

 

I saw a video from Sky News Australia stating "Australia Border Force has made an undertaking not to move the ship (Caledonian Sky) on until 5:00pm Thursday while the Federal Court considers the matter." That may give us some indication of the timeframe for the court decision to be made.

[bluemarble]

I don't see a report yet on the outcome of the APT court case. Perhaps it's yet to be decided. I do see the Caledonian Sky moved from a dock within Darwin harbor to a position outside the harbor in the Darwin Anchorage about the time of the Border Force's 5:00 pm deadline mentioned yesterday.

 

In the meantime, QE is continuing to sail north, now about 485 NM north of Brisbane, doing 9-9.5 knots.

[Yorky67]

Looks like she’s heading in the direction Papua New Guinea, away from Australia.

Dropping off crew in the Philippines?

 

 

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[Trevor33]

It would seem logical perhaps to repatriate crew that are from the Philippines - their families will be happy and sure they look forward to going home if indeed we dont see QE going somewhere else.

[bluemarble]

Here's a new bit of information as to where QE might ultimately be headed (after what appears to be a likely stop in the Philippines). The Southampton VTS website has added a listing for QE on their Cruise Ship Schedule page. That listing says QE will be at the QEII terminal in Southampton from 05-Jun-20 AM to 06-Jun-20 PM.

[bluemarble]

42 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

Here's a new bit of information as to where QE might ultimately be headed (after what appears to be a likely stop in the Philippines). The Southampton VTS website has added a listing for QE on their Cruise Ship Schedule page. That listing says QE will be at the QEII terminal in Southampton from 05-Jun-20 AM to 06-Jun-20 PM.

 

Oops, I should have realized this sounded familiar. Sorry, I see Ray66 already mentioned twice earlier this week that the Southampton VTS website is showing QE back in Southampton on June 5th. I'm really late to the game on this one!

Edited April 11, 2020 by bluemarble

[DaveB42]

The next QE cruise available to book is from Vancouver, deadheading  half way around the world and back, doesn’t make much sense.

[DaisyDancer]

From a crew member's post on Facebook the QE's ETA in Manila is 7 am on 19 April. 

[david,Mississauga]

On 4/11/2020 at 1:25 AM, DaveB42 said:

The next QE cruise available to book is from Vancouver, deadheading  half way around the world and back, doesn’t make much sense.

 

Cunard has finally acknowledged that the early season of Alaska cruises can't take place. It seemed strange that cruises for June were still being sold when Canadian ports are closed to cruise ships until 1 July at the earliest. As of yesterday, the earliest Alaska cruise available for booking is 11 August. That is the first of only three Alaska cruises for this year.

[Gazroberts80]

I think the Canadian/US summer season is almost certainly not going to take place. The US is now highly hostile to cruise ships, you just need to look at how they are treating the Princess ships that are unable to dock (despite setting sail from the USA). Some of these ships have no one onboard infected with Covid Virus.   
 

The officers onboard can’t stay on the ship indefinitely, so it would make sense to return to Southampton, which of course will accept the ship. Holding the ship for many months in the Southern Hemisphere for the next Australian cruise season isn’t ideal either, especially as the Australian authorities are being hostile as well. 
 

Most of Cunard’s officers on the bridge and in the engine room will be residents of Europe so it will be far easier to rotate them if they are in Southampton. Obviously for crew below officer grade it is often the norm for them to spend the majority of the year continually onboard the ship, so I’d imagine they would prioritise dropping off crew who are nearing the end of their contracts/or are in more customer facing roles in Manila.
 

Clearly the levels of staffing in the Kitchen can be significantly reduced if they only need to feed a skeleton crew. 

[Solent Richard]

Just an update.

 

Queen Elizabeth is currently under way making 13 Knots just south of Palau.

 

Her destination is Manila.

 

Also in the general area around and south of the Philippines is Sun Princess, Sea Princess, Pacific Explorer and, east of papua New Guinea,  Carnival Splendor.

[Yorky67]

Thank you Solent Richard. Not long now, till many of the crew are home. 
We’ve been enjoying watching the progress of the Cunard ships and especially the unpredictable Elizabeth directions. I feel attached to them having greatly enjoyed our past journeys. 
However, it’s going to be a long time till we feel confident to book another cruise... age, pre-existing medical conditions and now Covid insurance etc. 

[bluemarble]

5 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

Just an update.

 

Queen Elizabeth is currently under way making 13 Knots just south of Palau.

 

Her destination is Manila.

 

Also in the general area around and south of the Philippines is Sun Princess, Sea Princess, Pacific Explorer and, east of papua New Guinea,  Carnival Splendor.

 

It has been interesting watching the parade of ships that includes Queen Elizabeth heading away from Brisbane and Sydney toward the Philippines, hasn't it?

 

It looks like Carnival Spirit is also part of this parade. She looks to be sailing in tandem with Carnival Splendor off Papua New Guinea at the moment. Carnival Splendor says she's going to Batu Ampar (Batam) while Carnival Spirit says she's going to Subic Bay.

 

We can also add Pacific Dawn to this parade, well on her way from Brisbane to Manila.

 

Azamara Journey was originally part of this parade and her destination still shows Manila since departing Brisbane, but she turned to the southwest after passing West Papua and is now among the various islands of Indonesia. Perhaps intending to drop off Indonesian crew before proceeding to Manila?

Edited April 15, 2020 by bluemarble

[sfred]

Just an update on the Australia APT federal court case mentioned in earlier posts.  On Wednesday, APT and the Australia federal government told the court that they had reached an in-principle settlement (terms not disclosed).  A settlement leaves the government order in place which requires all foreign-registered cruise ships to leave Australia waters. 

 

From bluemarble's post, it looks like most/all ships have already departed anyway.

 

[bluemarble]

40 minutes ago, sfred said:

Just an update on the Australia APT federal court case mentioned in earlier posts.  On Wednesday, APT and the Australia federal government told the court that they had reached an in-principle settlement (terms not disclosed).  A settlement leaves the government order in place which requires all foreign-registered cruise ships to leave Australia waters. 

 

From bluemarble's post, it looks like most/all ships have already departed anyway.

 

A scan of Australian ports using marinetraffic shows only three foreign-registered cruise ships in port that I can see. Caledonian Sky (the vessel involved in the APT court case) is still anchored in Darwin Anchorage just outside the port of Darwin itself. Ruby Princess is in Port Kembla, potentially still under criminal investigation there. Artania is docked in Fremantle. Other than that, Viking Orion is sailing north off the west coast of Australia after having departed Melbourne on April 9th. Otherwise, Australian waters look remarkably free of foreign-flagged passenger ships.

Edited April 15, 2020 by bluemarble

[Austcruiser84]

I'm surprised the Phillipines government is allowing these ships in their waters after banning vessels some weeks ago. I guess these count as repatriations with so many crew from that nation. 

 

It will be interesting to see what the Australian cruise market looks like once this is all over. Public sentiment has turned against lines like Princess (though Cunard has been spared any hostile media coverage here), not just for their responsibility in dramatically spreading COVID in Sydney but also now for the fact they don't pay much tax. Double whammy. 

[sfred]

7 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

A scan of Australian ports using marinetraffic shows only three foreign-registered cruise ships in port that I can see. Caledonian Sky (the vessel involved in the APT court case) is still anchored in Darwin Anchorage just outside the port of Darwin itself.

 

Some further info - the APT case is apparently adjourned until Friday, when APT and the government are supposed to report back to the court with detail of their settlement.  Australia Border Force has said it will not evict Caledonian Sky until Tuesday next week at the earliest.