Tourists stranded as ship impounded

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Nearly 500 holidaymakers on the MV Van Gogh have been stuck in the Portuguese port of Funchal since Tuesday, because of a legal dispute.

They are in the final stages of a round-the-world voyage and were due back in Falmouth, Cornwall, on Saturday, but the timing of their return is now in doubt.

Actress Shirley Anne Field, who appeared in Alfie with Michael Caine, is one of the passengers. She said they were being well cared for. "They've had three months to sort this out, but they waited until now to ambush us," the 69-year-old told the Daily Mail.

Gladys Hobson, 64, and her husband Wallace said when the announcement was made on the ship's PA system, passengers thought it was an April Fools' joke. She said some elderly passengers were concerned they could run out of medication if the dispute stretched on.

Mrs Hobson, from Tyneside, said passengers felt stuck in the middle of a row that did not involve them. "The passengers of this ship should not be made to suffer due to a dispute. They shouldn't be involving passengers," she said. "We're in a beautiful place. You couldn't be in a better place to be held ransom."

The boat's owners, Van Gogh Cruises, which is based in Cheltenham and is a subsidiary of Dutch-owned Club Cruise, is in dispute with the administrators of the liner's former owners, Travelscope.

A spokesman for the firm said he did not want the passengers to be used as "pawns".

Sales manager Tim Fleming said the administrators could have waited for the ship to return to Falmouth and then taken legal action. "We do not want the passengers to be used as pawns. We want to get them home as soon as possible."

The company said it hopes the passengers will be home by Sunday evening.