Cruise ship trapped by BC tug workers' strike finally sets sail (PHOTOS)
A cruise ship that was stuck in Vancouver’s harbour overnight because of the tugboat workers’ strike has finally set sail for Alaska.
The Celebrity Eclipse left nearly 24 hours later than its scheduled departure time because a tug was needed to move a fuel barge that had trapped the ship at the dock.
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“We’re excited to announce that your [journey] will be underway shortly. We appreciate your patience and wish you the best sailing through Alaska!” the cruise operator tweeted.
#CelebrityEclipse guests – We’re excited to announce that your #JourneyWonderFULL will be underway shortly. We appreciate your patience and wish you the best sailing though Alaska!
ā Celebrity Cruises (@CelebrityCruise) August 29, 2022
The ship could be seen from downtown Vancouver and the North Shore as it made its way out of Burrard Inlet just before 1 pm Monday.
Sukhwant Dhillon/AM 600 Sher-E-Punjab Radio/Submitted
Sukhwant Dhillon/AM 600 Sher-E-Punjab Radio/Submitted
“Tug boats just arrived. Captain announced that the barge will be moved soon. We should depart in one hour,” passenger Thiago Salgado tweeted at 12:30 pm.
Passengers on board the ship began to tweet their frustrations Sunday, and many spent more than 24 hours aboard the trapped ship from the time they got on to the time it left.
My view of our 2nd day of our Alaskan Cruise-still stuck at the wharf in Vancouver š”š”š”š” Not real happy and waiting for updates to see what part of our cruise we will miss out on- if we ever get out of port Vancouver pic.twitter.com/1aDsPVs5Gr
ā David McCue (@DavidMcCue1) August 29, 2022
@CelebrityCruise 1/2 Stuck on Celebrity Eclipse in Vancouver Harbour. Been onboard for nearly 20 hours now and not moved an inch. Not going anywhere and canāt get off. Worst thing is total lack of communication from company . Just had first announcement since 6pm last night
ā Neil Young (@shakeyneil) August 29, 2022
The ship got stuck because tug boat workers across BC went on strike on August 25 after negotiations with Seaspan reached an impasse. Celebrity explained on Twitter that a tug was required to move the fuel barge and get the cruise ship moving.
The cruise operator has not replied to Daily Hive’s questions about how the Alaska itinerary will be impacted by the delay, or how customers will be compensated for the unexpectedly long stay in Vancouver.