(CNN in Spanish) — More than a thousand passengers from the MSC Cruises cruise ship that will cover a route across the Mediterranean are stranded in a port in Barcelona while authorities work to resolve the situation of 69 Bolivian passengers who do not have the correct entry documents.
According to a statement issued by the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Citizens do not have entry documents to the Schengen Area and face difficulties disembarking at European ports.” An MSC Cruises spokesperson told CNN that “passengers appeared to have the correct documentation when they boarded the plane in Brazil.”
The passengers were unable to disembark in Barcelona, which was their final destination
He explained: “The authorities informed us that their visas were not valid to enter the Schengen area. As a result, the passengers were unable to disembark in Barcelona, which was their final destination.”
The MSC Cruises spokesperson added that the cruise ship will remain in port while the company works with the relevant authorities “to find a solution to this complex issue.”
For its part, the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the Embassy in Spain and the Consulate General of Barcelona are taking steps to address this issue and provide consular assistance to passengers.
According to the EFE news agency, “relatives and friends of the Bolivian passengers traveled to the cruise terminal and watched with pain as their loved ones were unable to get ashore.”
According to MSC Cruises, there are 1,500 passengers on board and among the 69 Bolivians there are families and children.
“We are desperate, yesterday the children were showing up and crying,” Nessa Ledesma told the EFE news agency when she arrived at the port to see her sister on the cruise ship, among other relatives.
“We want to know what they will do with them; if they have to deport them, let them do it, but they will not continue to detain them as they are doing now,” Patricia Alanocca, a relative waiting at Barcelona's port, told EFE.
CNN is trying to contact the Spanish government sub-delegation in Barcelona, the entity responsible for this case, to obtain more details about the situation of the cruise ship and its passengers.