‘Medical emergency’ sparks early arrival of P&O Cruises’ Britannia cruise ship in the Cromarty Firth; operator confirms early Highland arrival was to ensure guest ‘received appropriate, necessary medical care’
A medical emergency aboard a major cruise ship sparked its early arrival in the Cromarty Firth yesterday.
P&O Cruises’ Britannia, which can accommodate almost 3700 passengers and 1400 crew, was not due into the firth until Monday morning.
But it sailed into its waters on Sunday evening after a guest on board required “necessary medical care”.
Online ship trackers showed the large cruise ship entering the firth on Sunday evening before briefly docking at the Port of Nigg shortly after 6.45pm.
It then sailed back out into the Moray Firth and carried out a slow loop before returning to the Cromarty Firth on Monday morning and docking at its intended destination at Invergordon close to its originally scheduled arrival time.
Confirming that the early arrival and unexpected docking at Nigg was due to a guest requiring medical care, a spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “I can confirm that Britannia arrived early into Invergordon to ensure that a guest received appropriate, necessary medical care.
“Britannia is on a 14 night British Isles cruise which left Southampton on Friday.”
There was no immediate word as to the nature of the medical emergency or the condition of the guest.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has been approached for further details.
