CRUISE Ships Arriving To ‘Park’ On The Upper Clyde
THE second empty cruise ship heading to Glasgow to lay up because of the coronavirus pandemic has sailed up the Clyde, with the third following a few days later.
Azamara Quest joined sister ship Azamara Pursuit at King George V Dock, Shieldhall on Friday night.
[UPDATED 23 June] Azamara Journey is currently scheduled to arrive on Wednesday afternoon (not Tuesday morning as originally expected.)
The 30,000-tonne vessels, which can carry around 700 passengers and are 180 metres long, have essential crew on board only.
Cruise lines have been looking for places to store their ships while the industry is suspended because of travel restrictions.
Peel Ports previously announced that three vessels would be coming to Glasgow, stating: “These are vessels which have skeleton crews of around 40 crew members each and have not had passengers on board for many weeks. The vessels involved have been deep-cleaned, are free from Covid and will be on the high seas for at least two weeks prior to arriving on the Clyde.
Azamara Pursuit arrived in Glasgow on 1 June.
Inverclyde Council was strongly opposed to cruise ships laying up on the lower Clyde.
Greenock was due to host dozens of cruise ships this year for the normal holiday season but it’s unclear when any will come to the terminal, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
