Passengers aboard Sun Princess lost their port day in Corsica, France, on Tuesday after a fishermen’s strike shut down every commercial port on the island, making it impossible for the ship to dock.
A guest on Sun Princess emailed our Cruise News Today tip line to report the situation as it unfolded. The passenger said the ship was scheduled to dock in Ajaccio by 8 a.m. but was still sitting idle nearly two hours later.
The captain later announced that negotiations with the striking fishermen had broken down, and that if the ship attempted to dock, the fishermen would block it inside the port, preventing the ship from leaving.
“The small boats are the local fishermen who are blocking the area where we would need to dock,” the passenger wrote. “Corsica has been canceled.”
Island-wide shutdown
The blockade is not isolated to Ajaccio. French fishermen launched a coordinated action beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, positioning their boats across the entrances to all six of Corsica’s commercial ports: Ajaccio, Bastia, Bonifacio, Porto-Vecchio, Propriano, and Ile-Rousse.
Ferries and cargo vessels were also prevented from entering or departing.
The fishermen are protesting a sharp rise in fuel costs they say is threatening the viability of their operations. The French government announced in late March a partial fuel rebate for fishing vessels, but fishermen rejected that as insufficient and launched what French media are describing as an unlimited strike.
The action is part of a boycott involving fishermen across France’s Mediterranean coast, including the Occitanie and PACA regions.
What this means for passengers
Corsica was a newly added port for Sun Princess. Princess Cruises added Ajaccio to its seven-day Western Mediterranean itineraries starting with the April 4 departure, replacing Gibraltar on 16 sailings running through next October.
For passengers on this sailing, it was the only scheduled stop in France.
Passengers who booked Princess-sold shore excursions for Corsica will receive automatic refunds.
It is unclear how long the blockade will continue. French authorities have not announced intervention plans, and the fishermen’s union has indicated they will not lift the blockade until the government meets their demands.
