The NSW Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess disembarkation in Sydney during March has found no misconduct on the part of staff at Princess Cruises or its parent company Carnival Corporation.
The highly anticipated report was handed down on Friday, finding “serious mistakes” by NSW Health which “inexplicably” assessed the vessel as low risk despite rising numbers of infections on board.
The report was welcomed by Princess Cruises which said it was testimony to the integrity of its people who had “always sought to cooperate honestly and professionally with officials in accordance with the regulatory environment”.
Commissioner Bret Walker said there were no systemic issues, and that the NSW Health physicians treated the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and had proper scientific processes in place.
“They were diligent and properly organised…put simply, despite the best efforts of all, some serious mistakes were made,” he said.