Sickness bug liner back in port

The Black Prince, back at berth in Leith

Operators of a cruise liner hit by a major outbreak of a sickness bug twice in a month have vowed to carry out even more stringent deep cleaning measures.

The Black Prince returned to Leith early on Wednesday after about 100 of the 393 passengers fell ill.

They are thought to be suffering from a vomiting bug similar to the Norovirus which hit 136 passengers on the Fred Olsen vessel at the start of June.

The company said even more stringent disinfecting would now take place.

Passengers have been disembarking from the liner and an environmental health team from Edinburgh City Council is on board to begin investigations.

Nigel Lingard, marketing director for Fred Olsen cruises, apologised to the passengers affected.

Passengers said they were confined to their cabins In pictures

He said: "I can confirm that we have got cases of what appears to be Norovirus type gastro-enteritis bug onboard the ship.

"Approximately a quarter of the passengers - about 100 people - have been affected during this latest cruise."

Mr Lingard said that the company had undertaken extensive cleansing and disinfecting programmes after the last outbreak.

This time even more stringent measures will be taken, to the extent of stripping out and replacing carpets and removing any soft furnishings it is thought could be infected.

The Black Prince, which arrived back at about 0700 BST, will be held in Leith for two days, delaying the next voyage, to allow for extensive sanitisation.

Mr Lingard added that, if this was the same virus as before, it was endemic in many places and could be carried on board by a passenger.

WHAT IS THE NOROVIRUS? It is the most common cause of stomach bugs Affects 600,000-1m people in the UK each year It is very easily transmitted by human contact, eating contaminated food or touching contaminated surfaces Nausea is followed by vomiting and diarrhoea Outbreaks common in semi-closed environments Source: Health Protection Agency

He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The next cruise will have a medical team here screening passengers before they join, just in case we can spot anyone who looks like they've already got some symptoms, and stronger reminders to people about things like personal hand washing."

Health officials said the outbreak would be investigated.

The ship left Leith for a 13-night excursion to Greenland and Iceland on 22 June and arrived back at the port on Wednesday.

It had 393 passengers and 210 members of crew on board.

Doctor called

One passenger, Edith Tootell, 71, from Morecambe, Lancs, told the BBC Scotland news website: "I wouldn't normally have called the doctor under normal circumstances because it was just sickness and diarrhoea but I thought I better had seeing as I was on the boat.

"They sent the doctor right away and he said I had viral gastro-enteritis.

"This was on Saturday so I spent three days in my cabin with my friend who wasn't sick. Fortunately I had brought two books of which I read 500 pages in two days so it didn't ruin the holiday.

The vessel was also struck by a bug last month

"The boat was scrupulously clean. We couldn't complain about anything, everything was spotless.

"We had very nice food and were asked to wash our hands before we got on the boat and before we went into the dining room for every meal."

Gordon Greenhill, head of community safety for Edinburgh Council, said: "We will then be working very closely with the company to investigate.

"Once we have carried out our investigation we will be recommending an action plan aimed at eradicating any sources that may be associated with this type of virus.

"We will of course work in close collaboration with our colleagues at NHS Lothian. We will be in a position to provide more information once we have inspected the ship."