Crew members of an overseas cargo vessel were granted shore leave in Taranaki despite not completing Covid-19 isolation protocols.
Taranaki District Health Board's sign off meant that more than 20 Chinese nationals sailors were able to disembark the Yangtze Flourish and wander the streets of New Plymouth.
The crew hadn't met the required 14-day isolation period because the ship picked up an Austrialian pilot to negotiate the Torres Strait on 15 November.
That should have set the Covid-19 clock back to zero but when the ship arrived ten days later in New Plymouth, it, along with its crew, cleared customs.
Billy Preston is the managing director of Phoenix Shipping, which handled the Yangtze Flourish's visit to Port Taranaki.
He says problems for the Chinese sailors started on arrival in Taranaki when truckers and stevedore's decided for themselves that the crew shouldn't leave the boat.
