A barge had sunk in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam at the time a cruise ship decided to bypass the popular tourist spot, the Travel Industry Council, which is investigating the incident, has been told.
As reported in the local media t is still unclear whether this was the reason the Costa Cruise ship Victoria skipped the Unesco World Heritage site.
The vessel had sunk.
Some 300 passengers, including pro-establishment lawmaker Ann Chiang Lai-wan, staged a sit-in on the Costa Victoria on February 6 in protest against Miramar Travel’s offer of HK$340 compensation for missing out on the tourist spot. The agency claimed a sunken barge in Ha Long Bay was the reason it skipped the site, but some passengers doubted the explanation.
They later reached a compensation deal with the tour agency but did not disclose the amount.
Some 2,000 passengers due to depart on the same cruise were forced to miss their stop at Hainan Island because departure was delayed by eight hours as a result of the protest.