Passengers of impounded cruise liner Van Gogh finally begin journey home

Published on Saturday 5 April 2008 19:47

PASSENGERS on a cruise liner stranded in Madeira for two days are to return to the UK tonight after a three-month cruise.

Nearly 500 holidaymakers on the MV Van Gogh have been in the Portuguese island port of Funchal since Tuesday as a result of a legal dispute.

They got under way on the last leg to the UK on Thursday after the boat's owners reached agreement with administrators.

A spokesman for Van Gogh Cruises said yesterday that, weather permitting, the vessel would arrive in Falmouth, Cornwall, between 7pm and 9pm today. Anyone who wanted to disembark and make their way home independently could do so. Coach travel booked by passengers would be available from around 8.30am tomorrow.

The cruise liner set sail on January 4 for a round-the-world trip costing its 460 passengers up to 9,000.

It took in the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Caribbean, Ecuador, Tahiti, New Zealand, Sydney, Mauritius and Cape Town.

Passengers were due to arrive in Falmouth on Saturday. But a dispute between the administrators of Travelscope, the previous operator, and current owners Dutch-owned Club Cruise resulted in a court order detaining the vessel in Funchal.

Receivers had the MV Van Gogh impounded while trying to claw back 1.5m from the current owners.

The cruise was originally booked through Travelscope but, after it went into administration, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) arranged for the Van Gogh trip to go ahead in a one-off arrangement.