Following the Saga Pearl cruiser liner not docking in Swansea on 2 July 2017, as planned, will the Cabinet Secretary outline what discussions he and his officials have had with Swansea Council and other bodies to ensure that a similar incident is not repeated?
The Saga Pearl was originally due to call in Swansea on Tuesday 4 July but Saga cruises made the decision to change the arrival date to 2 July. They were informed by Associated British Ports that the tide timetable for the Sunday would only allow them to arrive at 01:30 and depart at 12:00 as the Port is lock based with entry and departure tidal dependant.
In view of the new timing and the related tidal access window, Saga would not have been able to offer a quality period of time in the Port or run tours for their passengers. Therefore the decision was taken reluctantly to move the call to Holyhead with Cruise Wales working closely with Saga to ensure Wales still benefited from the Pearl’s call.
Constructive discussions are ongoing with the Operations Director for Saga to ensure that Swansea port will be on the call list for the future. No fines have been imposed; either on Cruise Wales by any bodies or by the Welsh Government on any bodies or organisations.