PORT LOUIS: Mauritius stopped a ship belonging to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings from docking at its ports due to a health risk and took samples from about 15 passengers who were on board in isolation, its port authority said on Sunday.
The Norwegian Dawn was scheduled to dock in Port Louis on Sunday, but because it did not fly to Reunion Island, it arrived in Port Louis a day early, the Mauritian Ports Authority said in a statement.
“The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken to avoid health risks,” the authority said.
“The health and safety of passengers and the country as a whole is at the highest level with the authorities,” it added, without elaborating on the nature of the health risk.
A spokesman for US-based Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement that during the ship’s voyage to South Africa on February 13, some passengers experienced mild stomach symptoms.
Once in Port Louis, the ship’s management was working with Mauritian authorities to make sure they were in place and everyone on board was OK, the spokesman said.
The port authority said its test results would be known within 48 hours.
Officials at the Mauritian Ministry of Health could not immediately be reached for comment.
The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members. Of those, about 2,000 passengers would disembark in Port Louis after completing their voyage, while another 2,279 new passengers were expected to board the ship, the port authority said.
“Passengers scheduled to board the ‘Norwegian Dawn’ to begin their voyage from Mauritius today will not be able to do so due to potential health risks,” it said.
Those disembarking or joining the cruise will now do so on February 27, a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesman said.
Tourism is one of the main engines of the Mauritian economy.
