RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A cruise ship trapped for more than 24 hours in a southern Brazilian port by fishermen unhappy about a new government policy was finally freed Tuesday, Brazilian media reported.
The vessel, carrying 1,800 passengers and 640 crew, had been docked at the port of Itajai, in Santa Catarina state, when about 220 fishing boats blocked its passage to protest limits on fishing endangered species, Brazil's leading news website G1 said.
The ship, operated by Pullmantur, had been docked in Itajai since Monday morning and was to visit Montevideo, Uruguay.
The fishermen, members of a fishing union, abandoned the protest after receiving a letter from the federal government pledging to involve the regional fishing industry in discussions over the new law, passed in last December. A meeting has been arranged for Thursday in the capital Brasilia.
In addition to the cruise ship, the protest had trapped a merchant ship at the dock, and prevented another three from dropping anchor there, and in general disrupted passenger and vehicle ferries that ply the river.
|
