Passengers from grounded cruise ship fly home to US

The cruise ship that ran aground in the Dominican Republic canceled the rest of its itinerary after being released, and the passengers will return by plane to the United States, their starting point, the company and port authorities reported on Wednesday.

The Norwegian Escape -with 3,000 passengers and 1,600 crew members on board- returned to the dock on Tuesday to be inspected after eight hours of work to undo it in the bay of Puerto Plata, about 200 kilometers from the capital, Santo Domingo,.

“The current cruise will be shortened” and “all passengers on board will disembark in Puerto Plata,” said the US company Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), owner of the ship, in a note to AFP.

“We are communicating directly with all affected guests and arranging for their return flights,” it added, assuring that the ship’s hull suffered “minor damage” and that “all guests and crew are safe.”

The cruise ship was scheduled to end its itinerary in Florida on March 19 to set sail again with other passengers.

But the NCL said that voyage would be canceled “so that necessary repairs can be made” to the ship.

The Port Authority of the Dominican Republic indicated on Twitter that inspections in Puerto Plata will take “up to 72 more hours” and that passengers will be placed on ” charter -type flights ” to the United States.

The Norwegian Escape ran aground on Monday shortly after setting sail from Puerto Plata, amid winds of up to 30 knots (about 56 km/h – 7 out of 12 on the Beaufort scale), according to authorities.

The Navy reported that a commission was formed to investigate the incident.

The vessel was built in 2015 with a capacity for 4,266 passengers and a crew of 1,733.

Puerto Plata, located on the north coast of the Dominican Atlantic, is known for its paradisiacal beaches, promoted as the “Amber Coast” and “Bride of the Atlantic”.