Two cruise ships have been diverted away from Brisbane as Cyclone Alfred moves towards the Queensland coast.
In an update this afternoon, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said that of three cruise ships currently off the state’s coast, one will come into Brisbane, while the other two are now looking for a new port.
“We are assisting them,” Crisafulli said.
“I’ve just received some information only in the last couple of minutes: two of those are looking for alternative ports and we will assist them in that.
“One will be endeavouring to come into the Port of Brisbane and offloading those passengers.
“We will do everything we can to assist them in that regard as well as those other two.”
Crisafulli did not identify which ships he was referring to.
The next three cruise ships that were due to dock at the Port of Brisbane are the Queen Anne (today), the Pacific Encounter (tomorrow), and the Norweigan Sun (Wednesday).
The Queen Anne, which is currently several hundred kilometres north of Brisbane, is now making for Airlie Beach instead of the Queensland capital.
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“Over the past few days, Queen Anne has been closely monitoring Cyclone Alfred, which has been causing strong winds and rough seas along the Queensland coast,” a spokesperson from operator Cunard told 9news.com.au.
“Following the closure of Port of Brisbane due to the adverse weather yesterday, Queen Anne sailed directly to Airlie Beach where she will arrive on Tuesday, March 4th. She will then call into Yorkey’s Knob on Thursday, March 6th.
“This adjustment of her itinerary allows the ship to arrive in Darwin one day earlier, on Monday, March 10th, for an overnight stay before she continues her maiden World Voyage as planned.”
The Pacific Encounter is currently just east of the Gold Coast, while the Norwegian Sun is in the Coral Sea south of New Caledonia.
9news.com.au has contacted cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian for comment.
