Princess Cruises’ ill-fated cruise ship Ruby Princess remains docked at Port Kembla, while a survey is launched as part of the New South Wales Police investigation.

According to The Australian newspaper, more than 5,600 Ruby Princess passengers (including the 2,647 passengers who disembarked in Sydney on 19 March and the 2,995 passengers on the preceding voyage that docked on March) will be sent an online questionnaire with questions regarding what they saw and heard during the cruises.

The survey will include questions about who passengers travelled with, medical treatment and extra cleaning on board, ports travelled to, offshore tours and whether they had a set dining time or table every night.

Police will then conduct interviews with those who give noteworthy responses, with a team of 30 detectives being led by the state’s homicide squad.

On 6 April, police in New South Wales announced they were launching a criminal investigation into the disembarkation of Ruby Princess passengers and whether national biosecurity laws had been broken.

The cruise ship docked in Sydney on 19 March after an 11-day cruise, with approximately 2,700 passengers on board. Since the ship docked, more than 600 passengers on board have tested positive for coronavirus and 11 passengers have reportedly died.

The ship is linked to hundreds of coronavirus cases across the country.

NSW Police Minister David Elliott told reporters on Friday (17 April) that police would conduct an investigation “like no other” and would need to work alongside overseas counterparts.

“There’s no rule book when it comes to these sorts of inquiries. It’s very unusual for something this large, across so many jurisdictions, to be put into the lap of one person,” Mr Elliott said.

Regarding the investigation, a Carnival Australia spokesperson said:

“Princess Cruises is willingly participating in the special Commission of Inquiry established by the New South Wales Government and the police investigation announced previously.”

NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller said the NSW Police would continue to aim for Sunday as a departure date for Ruby Princess, which is docked at Port Kembla. They are currently awaiting the all-clear from the health authorities.