A German tourist stands on the cruise ship ‘Mein Schiff 2’ of TUI Cruises after it was docked at dawn in Malaga port, becoming the first cruise ship carrying tourists to arrive on Spain’s mainland since June 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Malaga, southern Spain, June 15, 2021. REUTERS\/Jon Nazca<\/p>\n
Cruise Ships Seized Brief Hormuz Reopening To Flee Persian Gulf<\/p>\n
By\u00a0Laura Alvi\u017e and Julian Lee<\/p>\n
Apr 19, 2026, 11:31 AM (Bloomberg) \u2013Several cruise ships trapped in the Persian Gulf as a result of the Iran war raced to exit through the<\/p>\n
Strait of Hormuz over the weekend<\/p>\n
, taking advantage of a brief reopening of the passageway.<\/p>\n
Travel operator TUI Cruises said on Sunday that two of its vessels \u2014 Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5 \u2014 had \u201csuccessfully passed\u201d the strait by early afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe passage took place based on the relevant<\/p>\n
coordination and approvals<\/p>\n
from the authorities, in a controlled manner and with careful consideration of the security situation,\u201d the company said in an\u00a0update\u00a0on its website.<\/p>\n
The two ships traversed the waterway with a reduced crew, after passengers had disembarked in early March, a spokesperson said. The liners safely exited the danger zone and are now in international waters heading toward the Mediterranean, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
A total of four cruise ships steamed at speed just 45 minutes apart, hugging the Omani coastline as they rounded the tip of the Musandam Peninsula on Saturday, tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed. A fifth had made the outbound trip on Friday.<\/p>\n
The MSC Euribia, operated by MSC Cruises, passed safely through Hormuz after departing Dubai, also in close coordination with the relevant authorities, its owner said. It\u2019s en route toward Northern Europe and is set to depart from the German port of Kiel on May 16 and Copenhagen on May 17, as originally planned, it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Two other ships \u2014 Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery, owned by Cyprus-based Louis Plc \u2014 also departed, the tracking data showed. Celestyal Journey was among the four that left on Saturday, while Celestyal Discovery departed Friday. Calls to Louis and to Celestyal Cruises on Sunday went unanswered.<\/p>\n
The transits were undertaken after<\/p>\n
Iran declared the strait open<\/p>\n
for commercial traffic on Friday, only to reverse its decision less than 24 hours later following a refusal by the US to lift its naval blockade of Iran\u2019s vessels.<\/p>\n
Observed transits of commercial ships through the strait have<\/p>\n
ground to a halt again<\/p>\n
, following a brief surge on Saturday, as tensions heightened and vessels came under gunfire in the waterway.<\/p>\n
Carnival Slashes Profit Outlook as Iran War Sends Fuel Costs Soaring<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n