All 1,631 passengers disembark by midnight from Costa Fortuna cruise liner in S’pore

All 1,631 passengers had disembarked by midnight from the Costa Fortuna cruise liner after it berthed at the cruise centre in Singapore on Tuesday (March 10).

The vessel had earlier been refused permission to berth in Thailand and Malaysia because it had a number of Italians on board. It had been scheduled to stop in Phuket, Penang and Port Klang.

Italy was under lockdown on Tuesday because of an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country. The Costa Fortuna was carrying about 60 Italians, according to Malaysian officials.

The Thai authorities had imposed restrictions “on Italians that have transited in Italy in the last 14 days”, Costa Cruises said on Twitter.

Malaysia has issued a blanket ban on all cruise ships because of the high number Covid-19 cases on such vessels in recent weeks.

In Singapore, all the passengers were found to be well.

The authorities said all foreign passengers were to be conveyed by midnight directly to the airport or to their respective hotels. They added that all foreign passengers would leave Singapore within the next two days.

??? Finally! The #CostaFortuna cruise docked in #Singapore on Tuesday after being rejected by Thailand and Malaysia. Passengers will undergo health checks to ensure they are healthy prior to disembarkation. Singapore says it will continue to accepte ships which are bases here. pic.twitter.com/U3Qql0Vtho

— CCTV Asia Pacific (@CCTVAsiaPacific) March 10, 2020