Two cruise ships in the River Thames are on stand-by to serve as hospitals, according to Mail Online.
There are over 2,000 cabins on the ships and could be used for isolating patients. The British owners of the Saga Sapphire and the Spirit of Discovery are understood to have put the ships at the disposal of the Government but no decision has yet been made.
The cruise ships could free up hospital beds, reducing the strain from the NHS.
It is understood the Saga Group has reached out to the Government and offered their vessels docked at Tilbury Docks.
With cruises canceled because of the pandemic, the vessels are docked in London. Two other ships Astoria and the Viking Star are also in Tilbury and another ship Magellan is just outside the busy docks.
The Saga Sapphire and Spirit of Discovery usually sail from Southampton.
A Tilbury tugboat operator said in his four decades of working he had never seen so many cruise ships docked at the same time.
A port worker said: “We heard that they will be used as floating hospitals if they are needed. It does make sense as anyone who has the virus can be isolated in their cabin.
“The only people on the ships are the crew. It is usual as they are berthed where cargo ships normally tie up. Tilbury is a very busy port so to have them here for so long shows how bad the situation is.”
The Sprit of Discovery is the newest cruise liner in Britain and christened by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. It has a crew of crew of over 400 and can accommodate up to 999 guests.
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