The Westis Dutch cruise ship arrived in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville in the night from Wednesday to Thursday (Dutch time). The ship sailed on the South China Sea for almost two weeks after the authorities of five countries denied passengers access for fear of the 2019-nCov virus.
The 1,455 passengers, 91 of whom are Dutch, may disembark on Thursday just after 7 a.m. (local time).
The Westerdam departed from Hong Kong on 1 February and would originally end Saturday in the Japanese port of Yokohama. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Thailand refused to allow the ship registered in Rotterdam to their ports. A stopover was only made in Taiwan.
No one on board is infected with the corona virus. All persons on board were checked for the virus twice, namely when they boarded and halfway through the voyage.
The crew has been looking for a fall-back location since last week. Initially the ship was allowed to Thailand, after which all passengers would be transported to the airport in Bangkok, but the authorities did not want the travelers to come ashore later.
The Holland America Line (HAL) shipping company arranges and pays for all passenger flights to the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh, from where guests can continue their journey home. All tourists get their money back and receive a voucher for a next cruise at the HAL.
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