The Braemar is anchored about 25 miles offshore in the Bahamas where it is resupplying with vital food, fuel and medications. Photo: CNN

British officials launched an intense diplomatic effort to find a country willing to take the MS Braemar, which belongs to the British company Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Twenty passengers and another 20 crew members, including a doctor, are in isolation after displaying influenza-like symptoms while traveling on the ship.

The Cuban government has now said it is willing to receive the ship and "comprehends the difficult situation these passengers find themselves in," a diplomatic source in Cuba told CNN.

Cuba said it would allow the ship to dock there out of "humanitarian concerns" and the need for "a shared effort to confront and stop the spread of the pandemic."

It is not yet clear when the ship may arrive in Cuba and where the infected passengers will be treated if the British government decides to send the ship to dock there.

The cruise ship was refused docking in Barbados on Thursday and the Bahamas on Friday.
The Braemar is anchored about 25 miles offshore in the Bahamas where it is resupplying with vital food, fuel and medications.

The vessel, which is carrying 682 passengers and 381 crew members, arrived in the Bahamas on Saturday. Authorities there were the latest to prevent the ship from docking but it was given permission to drop anchor southwest of Freeport.
"No other Caribbean ports were willing to accept the ship because of local sensitivities towards COVID-19 coronavirus," the company said in a statement.

A plan to allow the ship to sail back to the UK was ruled out on practical grounds due to the distance involved and the health of the passengers.

A Fred Olsen spokeswoman told CNN that all options on where to go were being considered, including returning to its starting point in Southampton in the UK.

"We are exploring a number of opportunities and working extremely hard to find a resolution," she said.
"The key thing for us is to get guests home as quickly and as safely as possible."

The passengers on the Braemar are predominantly British but also include Canadian, Australian, Belgian, Colombian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, New Zealand, Norwegian and Swedish citizens.