Stornoway cruise visit cancelled

A planned cruise around the Hebrides and west coast has been cancelled after the ship was hit by a major coronavirus outbreak.

Forty one people who sailed on the MS Roald Amundsen have tested positive for Covid-19 following two cruises on the Norwegian vessel which was due in the Western Isles next month.

Five passengers and 36 crew - predominately from the Philippines - have so far been diagnosed with the virus.

Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten has admitted “making mistakes” as it faces a severe backlash in the escalating crisis affecting over 400 people.

Norwegian police launched an investigation on Monday into the outbreak.

The country’s public health officials are looking into the shipping company’s handling of the situation.

Leaked e-mails appear to indicate objections from Hurtigruten resulted in a government press release omitting a potential infection link to the ship two days before the end of the cruise.

All passengers had left the ship which docked in Tromsø on the island of Tromsøya in northern Norway on Friday without being informed of the infection. Results were unknown at that stage of covid tests carried out on crew members suspected of having the virus.

More cases are expected to emerge connected to the outbreak said Norwegian officials. People who are infected are being traced in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus.

The vessel aimed to be the first expedition cruise ship to depart from a UK harbour since the country entered coronavirus lockdown in March.

Ports of call in mid-September includes Stornoway, St Kilda, Skye, Oban and Fort William.

Today, the shipping company confirmed its Western Isles cruise is cancelled.

Hurtigruten’s chief executive Daniel Skjeldam told Norwegian media: “A preliminary evaluation shows that there have been weaknesses in several of our internal procedures.

“This is a serious situation for everyone affected. We have not been good enough and we have made mistakes.”

Later, he added: “In light of the recent increase in new cases of covid-19 globally, the only responsible choice is to suspend all expedition sailings until we are absolutely confident we can carry out our operations in line with all requirements from the authorities and with the even stricter requirements we have set for ourselves.”

People from 69 different regions of Norway travelled on the vessel since 17 July.

The vessel has been in quarantine in Breivika harbour on Tromsøya since the cases emerged.

All 387 passengers guests who sailed on the liner’s two recent Arctic cruises have been urged to get tested as the situation escalated over the weekend. Four were confirmed with the virus.

The majority of the 178 passengers from her last trip dispersed to their homes across Norway at the end of a week long polar cruise unaware of the developing situation, sparking an extensive operation to contact them.

It is understood that about 40 passengers were yet to be notified on Saturday.

Some 60 guests who remained within the port were told to stay put and quarantine.

Some travellers claim to have only heard about the outbreak from news websites.

The company’s communications’s chief, Rune Thomas Ege, said: “We are now focusing all available efforts in taking care of our guests and colleagues. We work closely with the Norwegian national and local health authorities for follow-up, information, further testing, and infection tracking,

“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew is Hurtigruten’s number one priority. All crew members are closely monitored and screened daily. Non-Norwegian crew members are quarantined before boarding the ship, and non-European crew need to undergo two negative covid-19 tests before even leaving their home country.”

Stornoway cruiseliner visit cancelled as ship tackles major coronavirus outbreak

3 August 2020