Cruise ship departure delayed due to cargo ship mishap
A P&O Cruises ship was forced to delay its scheduled departure – due to thousands of bananas.
P&O Iona on Saturday stayed overnight at Southampton due to a mishap on a cargo ship.
Several shipping containers filled with bananas plunged overboard from a cargo ship just off the Isle of Wight.
It happened close to the Nab tower lighthouse off Bembridge, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard is coordinating the salvage operation of the 18 containers which fell into the water.
several containers were filled with bananas, while others had avocado inside.
P&O Cruises ship Iona has a capacity for more than 5,000 passengers and was due to depart Saturday on a two-week sailing to Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.
“HM Coastguard is closely monitoring the situation and working with the relevant authorities, including the vessel’s owners, who are responsible for recovering the containers,” the Coast Guard said.
“Broadcasts are being sent to warn local shipping and Selsey Coastguard Rescue Team is on patrol.”
By Sunday, bananas were washing up on shore.
Authorities warned residents not to eat them.
Iona was later cleared to sail on Sunday evening.
It is expected the delay won’t impact any scheduled port calls.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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