| Falklands block Star Princess

PRINCESS Cruises passengers look to be the
victims in a looming diplomatic row, after the
Star Princess was blocked from landing in the
Falkland Islands off the coast of South America
earlier this month.
Argentina and Britain are continuing to
dispute the status of the islands, which
Argentina calls the Malvinas, and a number of
nations including Brazil, Uruguay and Chile
have agreed to support Argentina by turning
away any ship flying the Falklands flag.
The Falkland Islands govt denied that the
Star Princess was rejected because of the
diplomatic stoush, instead claiming it was
because a few people on board had a stomach
bug which the islands were “ill-equipped to
handle”.
“An outbreak in the Falkland Islands would
put enormous pressure on our limited medical
resources and jeopardise other scheduled
cruise visits,” according to an official statement
from the Falklands’ chief medical officer.
However Princess described the move as
“totally unwarranted and unscientific,” as well
as being against international health policy.
“No Princess ship has ever been denied entry
into a port based on incidences of ill
passengers and crew aboard,” said the cruise
line’s head of public relations, Julie Benson.