Stomach illness leads to cancellation of the Kiel ferry. Passengers criticize that the ship was allowed to sail at the weekend.

Color Line cancels today’s sailing after an outbreak of stomach illness. Passengers criticize that the ship was allowed to sail after the first outbreak of infection.

Around 1,800 passengers who were to travel to Kiel from Oslo at 1,400 today is affected.

– We are very sorry and take this very seriously. We are canceling as a precaution to be absolutely sure that we will overcome this, says Erik Brynhildsbakken, Executive Vice President Communications and Community Relations at Color Line.

Filip Skogstrøm, cohabitant and son from Tomter in Østfold is one of the families affected. They traveled with a group of 18 families with young children on Friday and returned to Oslo on Sunday morning.

He is critical of the shipping company letting the ship sail at the weekend.

– I don’t think it was safe to go down on Friday with that crew when they knew there was a communicable disease on board, says Skogstrøm, who was infected himself.

– It created a bad atmosphere and was not something particularly festive to do. All those who were infected had to get up every hour throughout the night, he says.

There were rumors of outbreaks

According to Skogstrøm, there were rumors among guests and staff that there was norovirus on board.

The contact person in the traveling party was notified of an outbreak before departure. Here they were offered to postpone or cancel the trip.

An hour and a half after departure, the party received an updated SMS stating that “We have experienced cases of stomach disease on the previous sailing with Color Fantasy and have taken measures. As a precaution, we still want to inform you and your entourage about this and ask you to be careful about your hand hygiene.

– We were told after departure that we had to show extra consideration. Alcohol dispensers were set out and we were forced into locks to use them. I don’t think it helps that much when you stand in a tight queue for 20 minutes to wash yourself, he says.

– We are very sorry for all of us who are affected and of course these families. On Friday, around 30 guests and some of the crew were ill. The crew was isolated, says Erik Brynhildsbakken.

In consultation with the infection control superintendent in Oslo and FHI, shipping companies carried out measures that “allowed us to sail out again on the set route on Friday at 2 p.m.”

– We took the measures that seemed reasonable as the situation was then. When the situation developed, we took further measures to overcome the situation, he says.

– Not very serious

According to Brynhildsbakken, many of those affected recovered quickly.

– It does not seem that the course of the disease is very serious. But we must take all precautions. Now we get the opportunity to inspect the entire ship without passengers, he says.

The outbreak began on Friday. During the sailing with Color Fantasy from Germany to Norway, over 30 guests plus several employees were affected by stomach ailments.

– We immediately implemented infection control measures in dialogue with the Norwegian authorities. Samples were sent in for analysis, but these are still not ready, says Erik Brynhildsbakken.

On the sailing that departed from Oslo on Saturday and arrived in Oslo again on Sunday at 10.00 a.m., a further approximately 70 travelers fell ill. Around 30 of the crew on the sailings were also affected.

Against this background, Color Line chose to cancel today’s sailing to Kiel at 14.00 in order to implement further infection control measures.

Reimbursing the trip

Color Line will contact all guests on Sunday with information on how to behave.

– Everyone gets an offer to be reimbursed for the trip, says Brynhildsbakken.