Aurora Cruise carrying 2,500+ passengers turned away from St Vincent due to occupied port

St Vincent and the Grenadines: The Aurora Cruise Ship carrying more than 2500 passengers, on Sunday, was turned away from Port Kingstown in St Vincent after it was unable to dock because of the terminal being occupied by a large vehicle carrier.

As the vessel was unable to dock, the passengers were forced to stay on board the vessel for more than four days. The next port call for the cruise was scheduled for Saint Lucia on November 11.

The incident sparked frustration among the international cruise line and its passengers, and the St Vincent and the Grenadines Port Authority issued a statement explaining the incident.

They said that the vehicle carrier, Splendid Sce, was docked at the port as it sustained damage to its hull while trying to berth at the Kingstown Cruise Terminal. It was reported that while the vessel remains disabled on a temporary basis, all its cargo was successfully discharged.

This led to the cruise docked at the port for a longer time than actually scheduled, causing issue with the Aurora Cruise’s docking at the same port.

The Chief Executive Office of the SVG Tourism Authority, Annette Mark, called the incident very ‘unfortunate’ and said that they did not want the cruise ship to get turned away from Port Kingstown on Sunday; however, they remain ready for the next cruise call scheduled for Friday, November 15, 2024.

She outlined, “This is an unfortunate situation, but it is an operational issue at the port, and I think that the best person to properly address any questions would be the CEO of the Port Authority.”

“In respect to our readiness to welcome guests, cruise passengers here to Saint Vincent and Grenadines, we are ready to make sure that persons experience that, um, have that immersive experience while in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we have, um, uh, what? We want them to enjoy our culture, enjoy our food, or enjoy our people, enjoy Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and, you know, just create that experience,” she added. 

As of now, the Port Authority said that they are taking all the necessary actions to restore normal operations at the Kingstown Port to avoid further potential complications.