Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 26, 2020 (SKNIS): The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has offered safe harbour to AIDA Luna, a cruise ship under the Carnival Corporation brand, due to mechanical problems from a propeller shaft and the bearings in it.
Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Transport and Ports, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, disclosed this during an interview with SKNIS on August 25.
Minister Grant said that the AIDA Luna put out a distress call to the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) because it was suffering mechanical problems and under the International Maritime Organisation rules, the Federation is obliged to help them in a time of distress.
“We were obliged to give them the furthest anchorage position in the Basseterre roadstead which we have done and so we expect that very shortly that engineers and the persons who would fix the vessel will be placed on that vessel and make sure that it’s on its way,” he said.
“We are expecting over the next couple of days once the matter has been sorted out, the vessel will leave the Basseterre roadstead,” said Minister Grant
“All the protocols have been observed and abided by and as soon as it becomes necessary to move on they will,” he said.
The Minister also explained that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Carnival Corporation have both benefited greatly from being business partners over the years.
As such the Minister noted that “in times of good, they are here for us and we felt that we can oblige in their time of distress to help them out with a mechanical problem.”
There are one hundred and three (103) crew members on board the AIDA Luna but none will disembark the ship.
