Pursuant to clause 31A of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Maritime Border) Order (No 2) 2020 (“Maritime Border Order”), I, Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister for COVID-19 Response, having taken into account the advice of the Director-General of Health and being satisfied that:

• the exemption is necessary or desirable in order to promote the purposes of the Act, and
• that the extent of this exemption is not broader than is reasonably necessary to address the matters that gave rise to the exemption,

declare that all ships and their crew and passengers that have been directed to arrive in New Zealand by an Enforcement Officer under section 23(2)(b) of the Maritime Powers Act 2022 are exempt from the requirements of the Maritime Border Order under:

• clause 8 that every person on a ship arriving in New Zealand must be a New Zealand citizen or a person who may travel to New Zealand under the Immigration Act 2009, and
• clause 9 which prevents foreign ships from arriving in New Zealand.

The exemption is subject to the following condition:

1. The master of the ship must take all reasonable steps to ensure that every person on board the ship is aware of -
1. the testing requirements under Part 3 of the Maritime Border Order and the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Testing for COVID-19) Order 2022; and
2. the self-isolation requirements under the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Self-isolation Requirements and Permitted Work) Order 2022.
2. The exemption will expire at 11.59pm on 31 July 2022.

Dated this 25th day of May 2022.

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS, Minister for COVID-19 Response.