Hundreds of passengers are stranded aboard the Viking Orion cruise ship off the coast of Australia, BBC reports. The crew received a ban on a mooring in Adelaide after potentially dangerous growths were found on the ship’s hull.
Officials said the ship’s hull needed to be cleaned before entering Australia. In their opinion, invasive species of microorganisms, plants, algae, and small animals pose a threat to the natural habitat of the port.
The ship was reportedly denied permission to dock at Christchurch and Dunedin in New Zealand and Hobart, Tasmania. Yesterday, January 2, the liner was supposed to moor in Melbourne, but this stop fell through. Meanwhile, about 800 people are on the ill-fated ship, and most of them are tourists.