Cruise ships skipping Curaçao over U.S.-Venezuela tensions

The cruise ship Norwegian Epic skipped docking in Curaçao on Wednesday and instead continued to Barbados. The captain reportedly said he was avoiding Curaçao due to naval exercises in the area, according to passengers on social media. He was reportedly acting at the request of the management of the cruise line NCL.

The Minister of Economic Development on the Caribbean island, Roderick Middelhof, confirmed that the cruise ship sailed directly from Aruba to Barbados. However, he could not confirm the reason.

Rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela have unsettled the Caribbean. Despite this, caretaker Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans insists that there is no immediate threat to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao - the Caribbean islands that form part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

After two near-misses between commercial passenger flights and American military aircraft, a majority in the Curaçao parliament asked the Netherlands to provide military assistance. The U.S. military aircraft involved in the incidents had their transponders turned off, making them harder to detect by air traffic controllers and airline pilots flying in the area.

A majority serving in Parliament there want the island nation to get access to Dutch military equipment, better capable of detecting aircraft that are unidentified. They also want the Netherlands, Sint Maarten, Aruba, and Curaçao to actively handle the matter through diplomatic means.

With tourism being extremely important to the island, the island’s executive body tried to reassure consumers that the Dutch Caribbean nation is still a safe destination despite the increased U.S. military presence near Venezuela. Dutch airline KLM, which has about 20 scheduled flights to and from Curaçao during this season, has also stepped up monitoring and enacted measures to make its aircraft more visible in the area.