Cruise Ships cancel calls to Christchurch

Many cruise ships have been diverted away from Christchurch, New Zealand following the devastating earthquake on Monday that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale

Hapag Lloyd’s Europa was in Lyttelton when the earthquake struck, a spokesman for the line confirmed all passengers and crew were safe and the quake caused no damage to the ship. A comment on the BBC website describes the immediate area as “unlivable” concluding that power and water supplies are down

The earthquake is New Zealand’s worst natural disaster in more than 80 years. At least 75 people have been killed and the region has suffered immense structural damage. It comes during the peak cruising season for Australia and New Zealand and will no doubt have lasting effects for quite some time. Cunard has already confirmed that Queen Mary 2 will not make her call to the area on Saturday however a replacement port has yet to be announced

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