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Outcast Cruise’s Ordeal Ends After Cambodia Welcomes Ship

Pariah Cruise Ship May Get Thai Medical Aid, But No Port to Dock

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The 2,257 passengers and crew aboard a luxury cruise liner that was barred by many ports over fears it harbored the coronavirus finally began to disembark in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville on Friday, ending an ordeal that’s gone on for almost two weeks.

Cambodian officials including strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been skeptical of the severity of the virus, personally distributed roses and shook hands with the Westerdam’s passengers, footage on the leader’s Facebook page showed. They were then carted away by rows of waiting buses adorned with banners that read “Welcome to Cambodia.”

Outcast Cruise’s Ordeal Ends After Cambodia Welcomes Ship

Thailand and four other nations and territories had turned the ship away because of concerns over the coronavirus.

The Westerdam arrived in Sihanoukville early Thursday, where local officials and medical personnel boarded the vessel, ship operator Holland America Line said. Twenty ill passengers were then tested and cleared for the virus, according to official state media.

“Cambodia does this because Cambodia pays more attention to human rights,” Hun Sen was reported saying on Friday by Agence France-Presse. “We don’t have wealth like a rich country but we have sympathy for the passengers stranded on the ship,” he said.

Emily Zeeberg, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, said with some 600 American citizens on board the ship, a team of diplomats and medical personnel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been sent to help facilitate the docking and the transfer of passengers to other destinations. As of Friday afternoon some had already arrived in the capital Phnom Penh, U.S. Ambassador Patrick Murphy tweeted.

“We are greatly appreciative of Cambodia’s efforts and assistance, and its hospitality during this difficult time,” Zeeberg said.

Passenger Christina Kerby said people have already started to leave by charter flights, and the operator is running buses from the ship to the beach. “We are free to come and go off the ship as we please,” said Kerby, who’s still waiting for her travel arrangements home. “If I’m not departing tomorrow I’ll certainly head to the beach.”

The passengers on board the liner, which is part of Miami-based Carnival Corp.’s stable, celebrated Wednesday night after hearing their period of limbo at sea would soon be over, Kerby said.

Outcast Cruise’s Ordeal Ends After Cambodia Welcomes Ship

Thailand turned the Westerdam away even after the operator said it had no reason to believe there were any cases of the deadly virus on board. Although Thailand refused entry, it had promised medical help for any sick persons.

Assessing Impact

The Westerdam’s next scheduled voyage, from Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 15, is canceled, and the cruise line said it’s “assessing the impact of current port restrictions in Asia on cruises departing Feb. 29 or later.”

Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Guam also rejected the Westerdam on concerns over the virus, which has killed more than 1,300 people since the outbreak started in central China late last year.

The Westerdam departed Hong Kong on Feb. 1 on a 14-day Taiwan and Japan cruise. The 1,455 guests and 802 crew members were originally scheduled to disembark at Yokohama on Feb. 15.

Meanwhile, controversy was brewing over another cruise liner that was allowed to dock in Phuket, Thailand.

Many Thais expressed anger on Twitter after local authorities permitted Seabourn Ovation to berth at the tourist-hub island. The cruise was scheduled to leave Phuket late Thursday after its passengers were done visiting the island, a local official said. The passengers, all from Europe, were required to take temperature readings upon disembarkation, she said.

--With assistance from Ellen Proper, Anuchit Nguyen and John J. Edwards III.

To contact the reporters on this story: Natnicha Chuwiruch in Bangkok at nchuwiruch@bloomberg.net;K. Oanh Ha in Hong Kong at oha3@bloomberg.net;Philip J. Heijmans in Singapore at pheijmans1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sunil Jagtiani at sjagtiani@bloomberg.net, ;Emma O'Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net, Sam Nagarajan, Frank Connelly

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