The first ever visit to London by a Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa 2 has been blown off course.
The ship, arguably the finest in the world, was due to berth at London’s iconic Greenwich landmark yesterday on the first leg of its first cruise after emerging for a multi-million pound upgrade in Germany.
Europa 2 had to make last minute arrangements for her visit to London
But because of high winds, the Captain of Europa was notified by the local authorities to change the mooring to Tilbury, the principal port of London.
Naturally this was not the best of starts for Europa 2’s return to service after two weeks in dry dock at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg.
Around 550 external specialists and 370 crew members worked on conceptual changes, cosmetic repairs, maintenance tasks and structural elements. In total, the craftsmen laid 43,055 square feet of new carpet and used 1,099 gallons of paint.
The good news for the 500 passengers on board is that the winds are expected to ease so that the next stage of their 13-day cruise to St Perter Port in Guernsey will be less turbulent. The remainder of the cruise hugs gthe Western Europe coast and ends in Lisbon.