article_snippet.sent: The passengers coming towards the end of a 15 night cruise became the unwitting pawns in a legal wrangle between a former crew member and the owners of the MV Azores.
article_snippet.sent: ship had been set to leave Lisbon at 7pm on Tuesday night with ship 489 passengers heading back to Bristol Avonmouth after a round-trip tour that took in La Coruna in Spain, the Azores, and Madeira.
article_snippet.sent: Harbour master then refused to let ship leave for Bristol.
article_snippet.sent: ship is operated by Essex-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
article_snippet.sent: The UK cruise firm, which had nothing to do with the financial wrangle, eventually came to an arrangement with Portugese authorities which allowed ship to sail - 19 hours late - at 2pm Wednesday.
article_snippet.sent: we has been impounded due to an historical incident which basically means an unpaid debt.'
article_snippet.sent: Cruise & Maritime Voyages's commercial director Chris Coates said: 'The delay of the MV Azores overnight in Lisbon related to a historic local issue with the vessel's owning company, Portuscale Cruises from whom Cruise & Maritime Voyages charter the ship using our own crew.
article_snippet.sent: Going nowhere: The harbour master then refused to let the ship leave the port and passengers eventually arrived back in the UK 19 hours late . '
article_snippet.sent: the ship is now heading en-route back to the UK.'
article_snippet.sent: The harbour master added: 'On behalf of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, I would like to extend our sincere apologises for the delay and any disruption caused.'
article_snippet.sent: The harbour master said The harbour master company, set up in 2010, carries more than 100,000 ocean and river cruise passengers a year and had 'never experienced a delay of this nature before'.
highlights_snippet.sent: Portugese authorities allowed it to sail, passengers got home 19 hours late .