Scotland has announced that it is chartering a second cruise vessel to convert it to temporary accommodation for fleeing Ukrainian refugees. The ship, AMBITION, is chartered for six months, starting from September at Glasgow.
The vessel is 708 feet long and has 713 passenger cabins that can comfortably house around 1,200 people. It was acquired by the British Startup cruise line Ambassador Cruises in January 2022. It was idle in Bar, Montenegro, as the owners did not intend the vessel to enter service till March 2023. The ship is supposed to provide accommodation to 1,750 Ukrainian Refugees. Ambition will join MS VICTORIA I, the first cruise vessel converted by Scotland to house refugees and currently accommodates 1,700 refugees. It is presently at Edinburgh, and its 6-month charter began in July, but the owners have stated that Scotland has the option to extend the charter for three more months.
In March, the Scottish Government launched the Super Sponsor Scheme to provide a more accessible and safer alternative to private sponsorship for Ukrainian refugees. Its initial estimate of 3,000 refugees has far been exceeded, with the Scottish government offering refuge to 10,056 people as of this month. Estonia and the Netherlands also hired cruise ships to house refugees at the beginning of the crisis. The Netherlands has recently chartered three more vessels for this purpose and has stated that they are working on docking arrangements for the ships.
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