Mazatlán was not a scheduled port of call when the
Holland America cruise ship “Statendam” began its cruise south. It was
schedule to call on the port of Topolobampo. As reported in the Mazatlán
Messenger on November 23rd, a senior official with Holland
America later said that the cancellation of Topolobampo and change in
port of call to Mazatlán was due to the fact the U.S. State Department
has Topolobampo on its warning list, but not Mazatlán.
Additional cancelations could occur, as Topolobampo has
three more cruise ships scheduled to dock there this season. It is
possible that if that port of call is cancelled for these future
cruises, Mazatlán could become the alternative port of call for each of
these cancellations.
Undersecretary of Tourism for the state, Rafael
Lizárraga Favela, said the Statendam is scheduled to arrive around 8:00
am on December 11th with 1,300 passengers and a crew of 700.
Although it is scheduled to depart at 5:00 pm, there were discussions
about the cruise liner spending the night in Mazatlán. However, Alfonso
Gil Diaz, Director of the Port Authority said, “At the last minute the
shipping company changed its plans.”
A docking partying is scheduled for the passengers as
they disembark from the Statendam tomorrow morning, as was done when the
cruise liner Veendam called on Mazatlán on November 12th.
Deputy Manager of port security, José Luis Silva
Sanchez, said that a favorable report on security in Mazatlán was
released following the cruise ship Veendam’s call on the city. He added
that, “”Mazatlán is listed as a port that meets all safety standards and
is constantly monitored by the International Maritime Organization.”
The next scheduled cruise ship to call on Mazatlán is
the Norwegian Star, which is scheduled to dock on the morning of
December 25th.
(from El Debate and El Sol de Mazatlán)
(Ed.
Note: The Noroeste today stated that the Veendam will again arrive in
port on December 24 and 31.)
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