PORT ANGELES — Because of rough conditions at sea, the ms Zuiderdam will not visit Port Angeles today — or any other day in the near future.
The Holland America Line cruise ship, which has a passenger capacity of 2,272, was expected to dock at Port of Port Angeles Terminal 1 at noon today and depart at 11 p.m.
Instead, the ship will arrive at the Strait of Juan de Fuca very late and proceed directly to Vancouver, B.C., its scheduled final destination.
All local activities scheduled for the ship’s passengers have been canceled, said Mary Brelsford, communications manager for the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau.
The Port of Port Angeles was informed of the Zuiderdam’s port of call cancellation about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, said Mike Nimmo, port marine terminal manager.
Mary Schimmelman, Holland America spokeswoman, confirmed that harsh weather delayed the ship coming up the Pacific Coast and, to make its schedule, it must bypass Port Angeles.
“Unfortunately, that’s correct,” she said Thursday.
“We love to be able to visit our home-state ports, being that we’re based in Seattle.
“It’s a shame,” she added.
“Port Angeles is such a great destination.”
The cancellation caught Port Angeles volunteers in the middle of preparations for the more than 1,000 visitors expected to disembark today.
“They were in the middle of putting the tents up when they got the word,” Brelsford said.
Shuttles for downtown shopping and cultural tours were planned for passengers and crew members, as well as activities at The Gateway transit center, extended store business hours, a Lower Elwha Klallam welcoming ceremony and other events.
High winds on the Pacific Ocean can affect ships’ ability to make headway or prevent them from entering a port or strait, Schimmelman said.
Brelsford said similar weather conditions caused the ms Oosterdam to be two hours late for its port of call in April.
“Knowing what happened to the Oosterdam, I expected the Zuiderdam to be three or four hours late — but I didn’t expect it to not be here at all,” Brelsford said.
The visit was to have been a stop on a relocation cruise, transferring the ship from its Caribbean winter schedule to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., for its summer schedule.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
