Shipping: More than 14,000 passengers descend upon Bermuda

A busy weekend at sea saw three cruise liners, a container ship and a coal carrier descend on Bermuda.

The influx began at first light on Saturday when the Explorer of the Seas rumbled into Dockyard with its 3,000 guests.

Twenty-four hours later the bulk carrier SKS Tana loomed over the horizon in the East End where she made a rendezvous with the pilot boat at Five Fathom Hole to pick up a new technician.

The coal ship was only visible for a couple of hours as she headed towards Port Talbot in the UK.

Around the same time as the Tana was disappearing from view the Norwegian Dawn was dropping lines at the other end of the island.

And she was followed into Dockyard at 1pm by the Grandeur of the Seas. Those two ships brought a combined total of around 4,500 visitors into Bermuda. Both ships left yesterday and will be replaced in the West End by the Norwegian Breakaway and the Celebrity Summit with their nearly 7,000 passengers.

The Somers Isles is scheduled to arrive at Hamilton docks this morning. The Bermuda Islander is back again tomorrow and will be backed up by the Oleander on Sunday.