Falmouth has lost out on an all-important cruise ship call after the 28,891-gt Bahamas-flagged Mona Lisa sustained bottom damage close to Spitsbergen, in the Barents Sea.
Mona Lisa, the former P&O liner Victoria, was sailing from the Magdalena Fjord when, according to reports, she damaged her propellers and the hull in what was described as a "glancing blow" incident. The 690, mainly German, passengers were landed at nearby Longyearbyen to await repatriation to Germany by air.
Mona Lisa's next cruise from Bremerhaven on August 2, which was to have included a call at Falmouth, has now been cancelled.
The Spanish-owned cruise ship Vistamar, which is scheduled to call at Falmouth in September, hit rocks whilst sailing between Ibiza and Formentera during mid-May but is now back in service. The unlucky Vistamar also struck a submerged object in the South Atlantic in 2001 and headed for Las Palmas for repairs.
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