Cruise ship denied access into Mauritius after suspected cholera outbreak

A Norweigan cruise ship with more than 3,000 people on board has been refused docking in Mauritius after a suspected cholera outbreak.

15 people on the ship destined for the capital of Port Louis have been put into isolation due to potential cases of the illness.

The Norwegian Dawn had been scheduled to dock in Port Louis on Sunday, but it had skipped its Reunion Island stop and arrived in Port Louis a day earlier, the Mauritius Ports Authority said in a statement.

“The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken in order to avoid any health risks,” the authority said.

“The health and safety of passengers as well as that of the country as a whole are of the utmost to the authorities.”

It did not give any details about the nature of the health risk.

A spokesperson for the Norwegian Cruise Line, based in the US, said in a statement that during the ship’s trip to South Africa on 13 February, some passengers had experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness.

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The ship’s management is working with Mauritian authorities to ensure precautions are in place and those on board are safe, the spokesperson added.

The port authority said its test results would be known in 48 hours. Officials at Mauritius’ health ministry were not immediately reachable for comment.

The ship has 2,184 passengers and 1,026 crew members. Of these, about 2,000 passengers would have disembarked in Port Louis after completing their cruise while another 2,279 new passengers had been expected to board the ship, the port authority said.

“Passengers who were due to board the ‘Norwegian Dawn’ and begin their cruise from Mauritius today will not be able to do so due to potential health risks,” it said.

Those who were disembarking or joining the cruise will now do so on Tuesday, the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.

The Independent has reached out to the Norwegian Cruise Line for comment.