MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. The MS Westerdam cruise ship, which was earlier prohibited from entering several Asian ports over coronavirus fears, finally entered Cambodia on Thursday morning after receiving the green light from the country’s authorities, a Russian embassy official told TASS.
"The vessel entered the port of Sihanoukville. Local authorities are waiting for further directions from Phnom Penh," the source said.
According to the local interior ministry department, one passenger is a Russian citizen. However, the embassy said it had received information about at least seven Russians among the ship’s passengers.
The ship’s operator, Holland America Line, said Wednesday that Cambodian officials had granted the vessel permission to dock after several unsuccessful attempts to call at other ports. The vessel has 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members on board. "All approvals have been received and we are extremely grateful to the Cambodian authorities for their support," the company said on its Facebook page.
Passengers are expected to travel to Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh by charter flights and then return back home. Holland America Line will arrange and pay for all flights home and reimburse travel costs. "All guests on board are healthy and despite erroneous reports there are no known or suspected cases of coronavirus on board, nor have they ever been," the company reported.
A Russian passenger of the ship, who identified himself as Alexei, told TASS that "nobody has gotten ill on board." "No one is wearing masks, and the meals are excellent," he said, adding that passengers regularly undergo body temperature screenings.
Westerdam sailed from Hong Kong on February 1 and planned to call several Japanese ports. Plans were canceled at the behest of Japan, which was concerned about several suspected coronavirus cases it believed were on board. Likewise, Thailand, Philippines and Taiwan also barred the ship from entering their ports.
The ship’s passengers are mostly from Europe and United States. No Chinese citizens were among them.