VAN GOGH at Greenock last year (Photo: Charles McCrossan)

Confusion over arrest of VAN GOGH cruise ship
Cruise ship held at Madeira over £2 million dispute...

A 16,331 grt cruise ship continues to be held at Madeira over a dispute in which administrators say they are owed £2 million. Despite the ship's owners, Club Cruise, reaching an agreement to continue the ships programme, after Travelscope (which chartered the vessel since 2002) went into administration just before Christmas, authorities have arrested the vessel.

Passengers who had booked the world cruise which began on 4th January from Falmouth were overjoyed that their cruise would go ahead but now they find themselves frustrated and in the middle of the dispute.

460 passengers are on board the ship and whilst they are free to leave it, for most it is a case of sitting tight and hoping common sense will prevail.

The ship, operated by Van Gogh Cruise line Ltd, a UK subsidiary of Dutch firm Club Cruise, was due to sail into Falmouth on Saturday. The company's managing director Mark Horwood said he could not understand why the ship had been held when negotiations could have waited until her passengers were disembarked at the UK. Speaking to the BBC he said that the administrators were fully aware of the ships programme and that they had been party to an arrangement with ABTA that allowed the cruise to go ahead.

However the Wikipedia entry for the ship states:  "Due to difficulties in acquiring a membership in the Association of British Travel Agents, Van Gogh Cruises were forced to suspend operations in April 2008" and that the Russian firm Metropolis Tur have chartered the vessel for the summer season. The source of the article, Doug Newman, says the company will take the ship back on for the winter season.

Amongst the passengers is the actress Shirley Anne Field (she appeared in 'Alfie' with Michael Caine) who told the newspaper the Daily Mail everyone was being cared for but said 'they had three months to sort this out' but had waited until now to 'ambush us'.

Some passengers thought the whole affair had been 'an April Fool's joke'.

Further announcements on the ship's plight are expected today.

The ship was built as a cruise ferry, the ms GRUZIYA for the Black Sea Shipping Company of the USSR in 1975 by Wartsila Turku. She became the ODESSA SKY in 1995 and her current name was adopted in 1999.

The vessel is a familiar sight around British ports and draws patronage mainly from the UK market.