US cruise ship to dock at Thilawa
December 27 - January 2, 2011
UNITED States cruise ship Nautica will makes its first ever stop in Myanmar early next month, a spokesperson for Myanmar Voyages Travel Company said last week.
The 180-metre Nautica will stop at Thilawa Port near Yangon on January 8 with more than 600 passengers, the spokesperson said.
The ship will stay in Myanmar for two nights, with passengers visiting Bagan and Mandalay, before departing on the evening of January 10.
Myanmar Voyages was established in 1995 to organise local stops for international cruise ships. Since then the company has assisted 38 international cruise liners berth in Myanmar and the spokesperson said eight were booked for 2011, including Nautica.
Passengers on the Nautica will be hoping for a smoother voyage than in 2008, when the ship, which is owned by US company Oceania Cruises, was the subject of an attempted hijacking by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. No passengers or crew were injured in the incident.
Following the failed hijacking, a spokesperson for Oceania told US newspaper The Miami Herald that the Nautica was “equipped with the latest anti-piracy technology” and its crews were trained in anti-piracy measures.
