(Updated 9.15pm)

A group of between 150 to 200 weary but safe cruise passengers arrived at Malta International Airport from Catania this evening after their cruise liner could not berth in Grand Harbour and headed for Sicily. 

The Costa Favolosa docked in Catania at 4.30pm.

The people on board had been told it was too risky to move into the Valletta port and since there was no other safe port in Malta where it could berth, it headed to Catania.

Orange Travel Group, sales agents for Costa, said in a statement this afternoon that arrangements were put in place to charter a passenger aircraft to transport all the booked passengers to Catania Airport, where coaches stood by to ferry them to the port.

The same aircraft is taking those who were due to board the ship from Malta to Catania.

Simon Mifsud of S. Mifsud and Sons Ltd, port agents of Costa Cruises in Malta, said that in line with Costa’s zero risk tolerance, the captain put safety before any consideration of cost or other commercial issues.

The cruise liner will continue to Naples, its next port of call, tomorrow.

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