Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ ocean ships, currently in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, are set to begin moving to Babcock’s Rosyth facilities to allow for more efficient running of the vessels, the company announced.

The four ships – Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch – sailed to the Firth of Forth when Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines announced its pause in operations on March 13. 

Black Watch will be the first of the ships to relocate to Babcock’s facilities in Rosyth, and is expected to be alongside this morning.

The Boudicca will also go alongside tomorrow (Friday), with the Balmoral and Braemar to follow early next week.

Peter Deer, Managing Director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “When we paused our operations back in March, we had an initial date of May 23 to resume cruising again. Unfortunately, this has not been possible, and so we have had to reconsider the running of our four ships until such a time that we can set sail once again.

“Moving our ships to Babcock’s Rosyth facilities and having them alongside in port allows us to run a more efficient operation, including the general maintenance of the ships, crew changes and refuse collection.

“I would like to thank Forth Ports for all of their support over the past two months while our ships have been at anchor in their waters. We are looking forward to returning to Forth Ports, Port of Rosyth, when our normal cruising operations can resume.”

Last month, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines confirmed that it would be extending its pause in sailings beyond May 23 in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and continues to assess all upcoming cruises on a weekly basis.