Tag Archives: argentina

Four Die on Holland America Cruise Ship

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MS Zaandam
MS Zaandam. Photo courtesy Holland America Line

reuters logoPANAMA CITY, March 27 (Reuters) – Four passengers have died on board the MS Zaandam, a cruise ship currently off the coast of Panama with dozens of guests suffering from influenza-like symptoms, at least two of whom have coronavirus, the vessel’s operator said on Friday.

Zaandam had been on a South American cruise that departed Argentina on March 7 and had been scheduled to end in San Antonio, Chile on March 21. Nobody has disembarked from the ship since it docked in Punta Arenas, Chile nearly two weeks ago.

Holland America Line, the operator, said in a statement it “can confirm that four older guests have passed away.”

Some 53 guests and 85 crew have reported to the medical centre with flu-like symptoms, the operator added, noting that “all ports” along Zaandam’s route are closed to cruise ships.

All told, there are 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board, as well as four doctors and four nurses, the statement said.

The cruise operator said it wants to transfer groups of healthy Zaandam passengers to its sister ship Rotterdam, which is now alongside the vessel of Panama.

Holland America Line said it was still working with the Panamanian authorities to see if it could get approval to transit the Panama Canal and sail to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Two Le Boreal cruises canceled to repair ship

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Ponant has canceled the Nov. 30 and Dec. 10 departures of Le Boreal, a yacht that was damaged by a fire on its previous cruise.

Ponant evacuated all of the passengers from Le Boreal after a fire “of a technical nature” broke out as the ship was cruising near the Falkland Islands. The passengers were repatriated last weekend, Ponant said.

The ship is now at the quay in the East Cove Military Port in the Falkland Islands, and will be towed in the next few days to Punta Arenas’ shipyard in Chile for repairs.

The 264-passenger ship had just started a 15-night round trip Antarctica sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina, on Nov. 15. The itinerary included a visit to South Georgia before landing in Antarctica and touring Deception Island.

Cruise lines become targets in latest Falklands face-off

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Cruise lines become targets in latest Falklands face-off

By Tom Stieghorst
InsightThirty years ago they triggered a war between Great Britain and Argentina. Today the Falkland Islands are again causing friction, and this time cruise ships are getting caught in the middle.

Argentine activists have been targeting cruise ships that call on the South Atlantic islands and then visit Argentine ports. Passengers have been harassed and ships delayed from leaving port.

Some rancor stems from last year’s 30th anniversary of the war, a 74-day conflict over sovereignty won by Great Britain, and from a recent letter sent by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to British Prime Minister David Cameron calling on him to return control of the islands to Argentina.

Underlying the tensions are hopes that undersea oil discoveries could bring new wealth to the islands.

Oil resources are unevenly divided in South America, with Venezuela and Ecuador having a lot and most of the other countries relatively little. But in 2009, one of the richest oil discoveries in the Western Hemisphere was made in deep water explorations off Brazil.

Seismic surveys show some signs that an equally large field could be tapped around the Falklands, and major players have been actively drilling exploration wells in the area.

Caught in the middle of this petro-political mess are cruise lines such as Seabourn, Princess and Silversea, which offer lengthy voyages this time of year in South America.

Cruise ships are targets because many are flagged in states associated with Great Britain, such as the Star Princess (Bermuda) or the Seabourn Sojourn (Bahamas). A law valid in five of Argentina’s provinces bans British ships involved in “exploitation of national resources” around the Falklands from docking.

Some ardent nationalists say the law extends to cruise ships. Last month, the Sojourn stayed in port an extra seven hours in Buenos Aires, under pressure to skip a stop in the Falklands, according to Britain’s Express newspaper.

A company statement said the delay was due to temporary unavailability of a tug and that it would sail to the Falklands after its stop in Montevideo, Uruguay, as scheduled.

While this latest round of protests continues, passengers booked on deep South America itineraries might best be prepared for the possibility of some extra days at sea.