Cruise ship visit cancelled

The first visit by a cruise ship to Lerwick this year has been cancelled because of bad weather.

The Discovery, en route from Norway, was expected to call in today. However, the sea conditions have put paid to the stop-over.

Lerwick Port Authority chief executive Sandra Laurenson said the ship would be “re-routing further south on the trip from Stavanger and hopes instead to call at Kirkwall”.

The Discovery‘s call would have been around a month earlier than the start of the normal cruise ship season.
She is currently making special interest voyages between ports in Scotland, England and Norway. With capacity for 700 passengers, she is due to make a further five visits this year.

The port authority stated last week that Lerwick Harbour could be on course for another record-breaking season.

With 52 ships booked, matching the 2012 record, the tonnage was expected to reach a new high at 1,923,950grt, beating the previous record of 1,531,097 two years ago.

Passenger numbers are estimated at 44,725, above the previous high­est figure of 37,572 set in 2012.