SIHANOUKVILLE: The famous Westerdam cruise ship that was granted a safe haven in Cambodia during the Covid outbreak has returned yet again with nearly 2,000 on board.

According to the Ministry of Information, the ship docked at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port with tourists of many nationalities en route from Thailand. It said that 1,873 people were on board, including 776 crew members of 37 nationalities. The tourists on board were primarily elderly people including 870 Americans, 288 Canadians, and 191 Britons, in addition to other nationalities. Among the tourists, 59 are continuing on to visit Siem Reap. The remaining tourists visited spots around Sihanoukville including Phsar Leu, Wat Inthanan, Wat Choat Nhan, Tumnup Rolok fishing village, and coastal areas.

The Westerdam is a Dutch cruise ship measuring 285.22 meters long, 32.25 meters wide and 8 meters deep. It is scheduled to leave Sihanoukville at 9 pm, with its next stop in Vietnam.

This is the second time the Westerdam has returned to Cambodia after it made an emergency docking in Sihanoukville when several other countries denied it entry due to Covid concerns in February 2020. It first returned to Cambodia on December 28, 2023 with more than 2,000 aboard.