Cruise Weekly is onboard the
new ship as it re-routes to
Taiwan due to an early
season ‘super typhoon’.
ORION II, ON ITS FIRST VOYAGE SOUTH FROM SEA
of Japan to Philippines and Sabah, is
engaged in an evasive move to avoid Super
Typhoon Muifa.
After ideal conditions and fine weather
through all ports in Japan’s inland sea,
Captain Frank Allica advised passengers
yesterday that Orion II will be taking a wide
berth around the projected path of the
intense storm, currently Category 4 and
expected to reach Category 5.
The vessel is heading for Taiwan where
expedition chief Justin Friend has arranged
alternate excursions to replace those that
will be missed in Okinawa and Iriomote.
A spokesperson from Orion Expedition
Cruises told CW that the typhoon was early
in the season and “quite a big one, so it’s
safety first”.
According to media reports, Typhoon
Muifa has killed at least four people in the
Philippines, despite not making landfall.
The Office of Civil Defence said Muifa
sustained winds of 175 km/hr and gusts of
210 km/hr as it blew away from northern
Luzon Island’s east coast yesterday towards
Taiwan and Japan.
Two men drowned when their boat
overturned and two children died in a
landslide amid fierce rain and wind in the
Bohol province.
The ninth typhoon of the season, Muifa is
moving north and is predicted to pass near
the Korean peninsula on Thursday.
The Korea Meteorological Administration
has also said the 530 km radius typhoon
could enter China through Shanghai,
depending on the North Pacific high
pressure system.
Muifa follows Tropical Storm Nock-ten,
which left 57 people dead in the Philippines
last week.
