MSC ARMONIA

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65 Bolivians deported from Barcelona

65 Bolivians who had arrived aboard the 'MSC Armonia', were finally deported from the port on April 11. Only four of the 69 Bolivian nationals who were on the ship, which docked in the port on April 2, have been allowed to stay. They are three siblings from the same family, and the daughter of one of these. Their parents are residents of Girona and the father has Spanish nationality. The rest, however, were taken by bus from the port where they have been held since the 'MSC Armonia' had docked. From there they were due to be flown to Santa Cruz. The cost of the flight will be covered by MSC. The cruise set sail from Brazil in mid-March, and was due to make a series of stops in the Mediterranean before reaching its final destination of Venice. When the ship arrived in Barcelona none of the 1,500 passengers were allowed to disembark due to the fake visas in possession of the group of Bolivians. The falsified documentation was not initially detected by MSC, even once the passengers had boarded and the ship had set sail. But when it was sent to the Spanish authorities ahead of the vessel’s arrival, the alarm was raised. The documents had been faked. The cruise ship was finally allowed to leave the port on April 10 with the other passengers aboard. The Bolivians, meanwhile, were held in the port until they were officially deported. The Spanish authorities rejected asylum requests that were filed by some of the group. They had been sold the tickets by a travel agent who claimed that the package included valid visas to live and work in Spain.

Cruise ship left Barcelona without 69 Bolivians

The 'MSC Armonia' which had stuck in Barcelona with around 1,500 passengers because some passengers had fake visas was able to continue its journey on April 4 at 1.30 p.m. after a two-day compulsory break. An agreement had previously been reached with the Spanish authorities regarding passengers without visas. The ship will arrive in Messina on April 6, but without the 69 passengers from Bolivia, who did not have valid Schengen visas. They have to wait in the transit area of the port of Barcelona for their situation to be clarified, accommodated on a ship provided by MSC for this period. They will probably be flown back to Bolivia at MSC's expense. An agency in South America had offered the passage and visas online and charged up to 9,200 Euros per person. This agency also canceled promised return tickets after the cruise ship left Brazil for Europe. However, the police did not rule out that the Bolivians actually wanted to get to Spain illegally.

Cruise ship detained in Barcelona while MSC Cruises was working on solution

The 'MSC Armonia' with around 1,500 passengers on board has been detained at the port of Barcelona after 69 Bolivian citizens without a valid Schengen zone visa were prevented from disembarking. The Spanish National Police suspected that their documents were forged. Barcelona was the final destination for the Bolivian passengers, but not for all those on board. The ship was originally supposed to continue to Croatia, but is now anchored in the Catalan port awaiting a solution to the situation. MSC Cruises were working with the Spanish authorities to manage the situation regarding the passengers from Bolivia, including families and children, who traveled with invalid documents. The passengers appeared to have proper documentation upon embarkation in Maceo. However, MSC Cruises was later informed by the Spanish authorities that the visas were invalid for the entry into the Schengen area, preventing them from docking in Barcelona on April 2. The ship remained in the port of Barcelona while the company was working with the relevant authorities to facilitate this process and has informed passengers on board of the situation.