Western Australia’s top politician has called for action to combat the rising incidents of Covid-19 infections among seafarers calling at the state’s ports.

State premier Mark McGowan said it was becoming clear that ships arriving with the virus on board was one of the state’s “weakest links” and the “biggest risk to our way of life”.

“The arrival of unwell maritime crew is now fast becoming the most difficult issue for our authorities to manage safely, without putting our community at risk,” he said.