HUNDREDS of passengers stranded on a cruise liner in Madeira for two days were finally on the move last night after the boat's owners reached agreement with administrators.
Nearly 500 holidaymakers, including 80 Scots on the MV Van Gogh had been held in the Portuguese port of Funchal since Tuesday as a result of a legal dispute.
But after spending two nights stuck on the vessel the boat has been allowed to complete its journey on to Falmouth, Cornwall.
The cruise liner set sail on January 4 for a round-the-world trip costing its 460 passengers anything up to £9,000.
It took in the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Caribbean, Ecuador, Tahiti, New Zealand, Sydney, Mauritius and Cape Town.
Passengers were due to arrive in Falmouth on Saturday, but a dispute between the administrators of Travelscope, the previous operator, and current owners Dutch-owned Club Cruise resulted in a court order detaining the vessel in Funchal. Receivers had the MV Van Gogh impounded while trying to claw back £1.5m from the current owners.
The cruise was originally booked through Travelscope but, after it went into administration, the Association of British Travel Agents arranged for the trip to go ahead in a one-off arrangement.
Angry passengers have accused administrators of holding them "to ransom" over the dispute.
In a statement, Mark Horwood, managing director of Van Gogh Cruise Line Limited, which is a subsidiary of Club Cruise said: "We are delighted to report that an agreement has been reached and signed off by the respective legal representatives of Club Cruise and the administrators of Travelscope, Menzies."
He said the deal has received court approval and the vessel set off at 6.30pm to continue its journey to Falmouth. It is due to arrive on Sunday evening.
"Passengers this afternoon, at the expense of Club Cruise, have enjoyed a complimentary excursion. Passengers have been free to leave the vessel at anytime and have not been confined to the ship." added Mr Horwood.
Actress Shirley Anne Field, who appeared in Alfie with Michael Caine was one of the passengers on the vessel.
She said:"Nobody's complaining very much. Most of us are enjoying our extra time in Madeira."
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