Three other ships called at Ha Long Bay as Costa Victoria skipped port, travel watchdog told
Travel industry chief says ‘it is not accurate’ to claim ship was turned away by Vietnamese port
Costa Cruises - not Vietnamese port authorities - made the decision not to berth the Costa Victoria at popular tourist destination Ha Long Bay, the Travel Industry Council has been told.
The decision cut short a scheduled land excursion for some 300 passengers who later refused to leave the vessel in protest after it finished the trip in Hong Kong about two weeks ago.
Their sit-in caused a nine-hour delay to another 2,000 passengers who were scheduled on the next trip on the same vessel.
In a follow-up with the Vietnamese consular office, the travel watchdog was told that two barges hit each other on February 4, resulting in the sinking of one.
Maritime authorities closed the channel for an hour in the morning, but had reopened it by the time Costa Victoria neared the port, said the council's chairman, Michael Wu Siu-ieng.
Three other large vessels continued sailing to the Ha Long Bay port that day. Costa Victoria was the only one which refused to berth, he said. "It is not accurate to say Costa Victoria was refused entry into Ha Long Bay due to safety reasons," he said.