A disabled cruise ship will spend an extra 10 to 12 hours at sea without electricity, air conditioning or toilet facilities because of a row over tugs, a Seychelles minister says.
Joel Morgan said a French fishing vessel that was first to respond to the drifting liner refused to give way to faster tug boats.
He said the Costa Allegra likely would have arrived in port on Wednesday night local time if the tugs had been allowed to take over.
Instead the ship is not scheduled to reach port until mid-morning on Thursday.
"The Seychelles authorities are not happy about this situation and we would have wished to get the ship into port as soon as possible in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the passengers," said Morgan, minister of home affairs, environment, transport and energy.
Morgan said that when the Seychelles tugs met up with the Costa Allegra on Tuesday, a "conversation" took place to see the fishing vessel step aside and the faster tugs put in place.
"The discussion went on for quite a while to no avail," he said.
Morgan said the Seychelles is not happy that the financial objectives of the French vessel was...
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