Technical hitch takes cruise ship out of action
Saturday, 17 May, 2011
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MSC Cruises has cancelled the next sailing of its ship MSC Opera which was due to depart from Southampton tomorrow on its Baltic Capitals itinerary. The next sailing will not take place until May 27.
The ship suffered technical problems to an electrical panel at the weekend during a previous Baltics cruise and the operator was forced to abandon the itinerary, sending rescue tug boats to the Gotland Island area in Sweden and repatriating the 1,700 passengers – including 400 Britons – with a full reimbursement for the cost of their holiday.
The ship has now been towed to the port of Nynamshamn near Stockholm where shipyards technical teams have been despatched to fix the problem.
But the cruiseline issued a statement yesterday which said: “As the work of the electrical team is not yet over, MSC Cruises has taken the precautionary measure of cancelling the next MSC Opera cruise which was due to sail out of Southampton on May 17th, in order to maintain its high standard of security, quality and comfort. All affected passengers will be contacted and offered adequate compensation.”
The ship lost power on Saturday, apparently leaving passengers in the dark with no running water or sanitation for 24 hours, but the operator has stressed that since Sunday afternoon most services had been restored on the ship with passengers being offered a hot breakfast this morning and complimentary drinks.
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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