DIAMOND Princess wasn’t able to dock at the Port of Saipan on Saturday due to a strong gust of wind, according to the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
The British-registered luxury ship, which has 1,545 passengers and 1,097 crewmembers, was scheduled to make a port call on Saipan from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
But according to Port of Saipan operations and maintenance supervisor McQueen Masaharu, the wind gust on Saturday morning was between 25 and 30 knots. He said the cruise ship could have entered the port if the wind gust was from 10 to 15 knots.
It was also at the discretion of the cruise ship’s captain to cancel the scheduled port call, Masaharu said.
He said officials and staff of the Marianas Visitors Authority, along with a Saipan cultural dance group and other members of the island community, were at the port to welcome the visitors on Saturday morning.
The Diamond Princess was seen in the waters off the Saipan lagoon at around 7 a.m., but it could not make its way to the seaport due to the strong gust of wind, Masaharu said, adding that the ship left about an hour later.
On Friday morning, the Diamond Princess arrived at the port of Guam. The ship’s passengers explored the island before returning to the ship and departing Friday evening.
The Diamond Princess is seen outside the reef of the Saipan lagoon on Saturday morning.
