Rebel ocean attacks forces postponement of Virgin cruise ship’s maiden voyage to Port Douglas

CRUISE SAFETY

David Gardiner

Journalist

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No longer on the way: Virgin Voyages’ ship Resilient Lady won’t be visiting Port Douglas this year because of ongoing hostilities in the Red Sea. Picture: Virgin Voyages

Rebel attacks on ships in the Red Sea have prompted Virgin Voyages to ‘reposition’ its cruise liner, Resilient Lady to the Caribbean instead of Australia for the 2024-25 season, meaning Port Douglas will miss out on its first planned visit by the ship.

The ship will still see out its Mediterranean summer cruise season, but will not return as scheduled to Australia, where it would normally sail back to via the Red Sea.

Houthi rebels have since last November repeatedly attacked ships with missiles and other weapons in the Red Sea, mostly cargo and other merchant vessels, which they believe have links to Israel.

Virgin Voyages has joined a growing number of cruise companies in avoiding the major shipping thoroughfare, where they believe the attacks are likely to escalate and possibly threaten the safety of cruise ships as well.

Resilient Lady had been scheduled to set off on a 44-night repositioning from Athens to Australia in October 2024, making stops in destinations including Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore and Bali along the way. 

Passenger safety “priority”

Before the cancellation, customers had been given the option of 15 brand new itineraries and nine new ports including Broome, Albany, Adelaide, Newcastle, Mooloolaba, Port Douglas, Brisbane, Eden and Kangaroo Island.

“With the safety of our passengers and crew as our number one priority, Virgin Voyages recently shared a change of course for our early 2024 repositioning voyage from Australia to the Med,” Virgin Voyages said in a travel update.

“On the heels of these recent changes and based on the regional and government advice we have received, we remain very concerned about potential escalations in the Red Sea over the next 12 months. 

“This significant and ongoing conflict puts unacceptable risks for safe passage through the region for our Sailors, crew and vessel (Resilient Lady). 

“As a result, we have been left with no choice but to cancel our 2024/25 voyage season plans for Resilient Lady, impacting the late 2024 and early 2025 repositioning voyages between Europe and Australia and a second sailing season in Australian waters. 

“To say that we are disappointed to have come to this tough conclusion is an understatement. 

“These adjustments are happening now in order to minimize potential future disruption to our passengers' holiday plans knowing there is a high likelihood that changes would need to happen in the future.”

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