Holland America Line’s (HAL) ship Westerdam has no cases of coronavirus on board, it has been confirmed.

Despite reports earlier this week that the virus may have struck the cruise ship, resulting in Westerdam having been turned away from Japanese ports amid fears, the line has now confirmed that there are no known or suspected cases on board.

A spokesperson at HAL said: “All guests on board are healthy and despite erroneous reports, there are no known or suspected cases of coronavirus on board, nor have there ever been.

“We sincerely thank our guests and the crew on Westerdam — and their loved ones — for their patience during this extraordinary time.”

Westerdam had departed on a 14-day cruise from Hong Kong on 1 February, with 1,455 guests and 802 crew on board.

The cruise was previously scheduled to disembark on 15 February in Yokohama, Japan, but will now disembark in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Westerdam will arrive at 7am local time on Thursday 13 February and will remain in port for several days for disembarkation.

Guests will be able to go ashore, with all approvals having been received. HAL stated it was “extremely grateful to the Cambodian authorities for their support”.

Guests will disembark in Sihanoukville over the next few days and transfer via charter flights to Phnom Penh for forward travel home.

HAL has confirmed it will arrange and pay for all flights home, in addition to the full cruise refund and 100 per cent future cruise credit.

Future Westerdam voyage plans are still being finalised and the 15 February cruise scheduled to embark in Yokohama has been cancelled.

“No cancellations for cruises with departure dates beyond 15 February have been announced at this time,” continued the HAL spokesperson.

“However, we are assessing the impact of current port restrictions in Asia on cruises departing 29 February or later. We will communicate details as they become finalised in the next few days.”

The latest information will continue to be posted under the News & Travel Advisory section of hollandamerica.com.