2 Apr 2012

NZ people on stricken cruise ship offered consular help

2:06 pm on 2 April 2012

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says 14 New Zealanders aboard a stricken luxury cruise ship forced to dock in Malaysia are safe and well.

The Azamara Quest, with 1000 people on board, spent more than a day adrift off the coast of the southern Philippines after a fire damaged its engine rooms on Friday.

Engineers managed to make temporary repairs and the ship was escorted by a flotilla of United States and Philippines Navy vessels to port at Sandakan in Malaysia on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the ministry says a representative from the New Zealand High Commission is providing consular assistance.