Marine records show Belfast cruise ship the Villa Vie Odyssey set to leave shortly... or in 2030?
The Odyssey – the cruise ship that has been stuck in Belfast for four months – remains at the mouth of Belfast Lough.
The 31-year-old Bahamas-registered ship, run by the firm Villa Vie Residences, left the dock late on Monday night… but didn’t get far.
It sailed roughly 10 nautical miles (about 11.5 miles) to the edge of the lough, near Bangor, and has remained in roughly the same spot ever since.
As to when it will actually depart these waters for good, though, the answer is not obvious.
The website Vesselfinder.com lists her next port as Brest in north-west France, stating she is due in there at about 4am tomorrow.
However, maritime journalist Dave Monk posted up a screenshot this morning from the Belfast Harbour arrivals/departures board, showing her departure as 11pm… on October 2, 2030.
A check of the website a short time ago shows this listing has now disappeared.
The firm Hamilton Shipping is the agent for the vessel.
When contacted to ask when it was due to leave, one of its agents told the News Letter: “Good question.”
They do not know either, but suggested that you can “rule out” the ship’s arrival in Brest at 4am tomorrow, because it is a two-day passage to get there.
As to what is holding her up, the agent said: “Paperwork.”
The ship’s (non)-departure has become something of a saga this week.
On Tuesday, the Twitter account @MLAsAndTheLike (9,000 followers) tweeted out a picture of Scrooge from a Christmas Carol throwing open his window on Christmas Day and asking: “You, boy... How many times has the Villa Vie Odyssey left Belfast now...?”
More developments when we get them.