The vessel with two coronavirus-positive mariners on board is expected to return to NZ early next week and they're expected to be taken to a quarantine facility.
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In a statement, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said Customs had advised the Viking Bay would return, but details including which port it would dock at were still being finalised.
The two crew members will be taken off the ship using "standard Infection Prevention and Control protocols, which involves the use of appropriate PPE" before being transferred to a quarantine facility.
"A health management plan will be put in place for those who remain on board the Viking Bay. This approach both manages the risk to public health as well as allowing the provision of appropriate medical assistance to the crew," the statement said.
"Further protocols and procedures will be put in place to protect the safety and security of the Viking Bay while it is in port and mitigate the risk of infection outside the cohort of mariners.
"Customs and public health officials are also continuing to monitor a second ship, reported yesterday, which will at this stage remain at sea."
There were no new cases of Covid-19 in the community or managed isolation today, the MOH said.
There was one new historical case in MIQ and a previously reported case from 28 June has been reclassified as a historical case.
