Cruise passengers from the stricken MSC Opera are back on dry land this afternoon, after being towed to a Swedish port.
Cruise passengers from the stricken MSC Opera are back on dry land this afternoon, after being towed to a Swedish port.
The cruise ship, which plans to sail from Southampton throughout the summer, was hit with a power failure after problems with an electrical panel onboard. It meant that the hundreds of British passengers onboard had no hot food or running water and the ship’s engines weren’t working.
This morning, MSC Cruises have said that power has been restored to most areas of the ship and holidaymakers have been offered a hot breakfast.
MSC Opera was towed to Nynamshamn in Sweden, which is close to Stockholm. The company says passengers will now be repatriated from the Swedish capital and that they’ve all been issued a credit voucher for the full amount of the ten-day cruise.
However, there’s disappointment for those planning a holiday on the liner next week as the cruise that was due to leave Southampton tomorrow has been cancelled.
A spokesperson for MSC cruises said: “The whole crew, together with a team of technicians from STX Yards have been working around the clock to solve the electrical problem and an additional technical team has just embarked in the port of Nynamshamn.
“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 tomorrow, in order to maintain its high standard of security, quality and comfort.
“All affected passengers will be contacted and offered adequate compensation.”
