Fourth cruise ship visit to Samoa cancelled

The Carnival Fantasy cruise ship leaves PortMiami, in Miami Beach, Florida, US on June 20, 2016. The Caribbean and Mediterranean could eventually be rivalled by Southeast Asia, a budding hotspot for Chinese voyagers. (AP file photo). Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

APIA, Feb 18, 2020, RNZ. A fourth cruise ship’s visit to Samoa has been cancelled amid the global coronavirus outbreak. Samoa Ports Authority chief executive So’oalo Kuresa So’oalo said the Sevens Seas Mariner, which was scheduled to arrive next Monday, has been cancelled, Radio New Zealand reported.

The Samoa Observer reports it’s the fourth cruise ship to do so in the past two months.

However, government spokesman Nanai Laveitiga Tuiletufuga said that contrary to recent reports, the ports of Apia remained open to cruise ships.

Nanai said some ships were being cancelled because they did not fulfil quarantine requirements from the Ministry of Health.

The current requirement for cruise ships is for their local agent to pay for a local health inspector to travel to the last port of call to conduct a screening before the vessel arrives in Samoa.

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