16 May, 2019 @ 11:09
1 min read

FLAG-RANT: Fabian Picardo steps in after American cruise ship infuriates Gibraltar with ‘Welcome to Gibraltor’ message printed on Spanish flag

OFFENSIVE: Sign welcoming passengers to Gibraltar featuring a Spanish flag (Courtesy of GBC)

A CRUISE ship captain has been forced to apologise after putting up an ‘offensive’ sign which welcomed his passengers to ‘Gibraltor’ – printed on a SPANISH flag. 

The sign outraged locals so much that Chief Minister Fabian Picardo ordered a port official to board the Koningsdam boat and order it be taken down.

Picardo also demanded that the captain of ship, from the US-based Holland America company, write a formal letter of apology.

The captain wrote a letter within the hour, saying he was sorry he used the wrong flag.

He said that he ‘fully respects the history of Gibraltar as a British territory’ and understands that ‘using the wrong flag can affect Gibraltarians’.

The captain added that his team would revise their on-board procedures to ensure these type of errors don’t happen in the future.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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