Several cruise ships stranded in the Middle East amid the war with Iran successfully cleared the Strait of Hormuz.
Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5 had passed through the waterway as of early afternoon on April 19 and were bound for Cape Town, operator TUI Cruises said on its website. Iran lifted a blockade on marine traffic but later reimposed it, while the U.S. has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports.
Mein Schiff 4 had been in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, while Mein Schiff 5 was in Doha, Qatar. Guests were repatriated in early to mid-March, followed by most crew.
"The past few weeks have presented us all with extraordinary challenges," TUI Cruises CEO Wybcke Meier said in a statement. "I would like to extend my special thanks to our captains, the crews and all the teams on board and ashore who have helped to overcome this situation with great professionalism, caution and dedication. We are therefore all the more delighted that we can now swiftly return to regular operations and deploy our entire fleet as planned."
Mein Schiff 4’s cruise departing from Trieste, Italy on May 17 and Mein Schiff 5’s cruise from Heraklion in Greece on May 15 had been canceled, but will now proceed.
