Two cruise lines have suspended calls at St Kitts after 17 tourists were robbed at gunpoint on Sunday, the UK Daily Telegraph reported today.
The robbery has shocked this idyllic tourist island and roiled the cruise industry.
The Telegraph said that Florida-based Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises, based in California, made the decision after the incident on Sunday.
The passengers were travelling on a tour bus, having disembarked from the vessel Celebrity Mercury for an organised shore excursion, the Telegraph said. Two armed bandits reportedly blocked the road with a tree branch and threw a rock at the windshield before boarding the vehicle.
Money, jewellery, mobile phones and other personal items were taken, but no one was injured, the Telegraph reported.
This week the 2,124-berth Carnival Miracle was diverted to Antigua, while on Wednesday the 2,600-passenger Grand Princess cancelled a visit to the port of Basseterre. Celebrity Cruises, which operates the ship involved in the incident, is yet to cancel visits to the island, but says it is monitoring the situation closely.
Ricky Skerritt, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, said that efforts were being made to ensure the incident would not be repeated.
“The people of St Kitts and Nevis should be commended for their swift and decisive response to this affront to our nation’s economic security and reputation as a safe and welcoming tourism destination,” he said, according to the Telegraph.
The BBC is meanwhile reporting that Kittitian authorities say they have made four arrests and confiscated a number of items in connection with the attack.
A government statement says a special task force is investigating the incident.
The authorities are also increasing patrols and say uniformed police presence has been established in tourism-concentrated areas, the BBC added.
St Kitts and Nevis National Security Minister Sam Condor has denounced the attack on the tourists, and said the perpetrators had committed an act of treason.
