At least 100 cruise ship passengers stranded in Southport as port shuts after gas leak

Passengers waiting to board a cruise ship are facing “complete chaos” after gas leak has caused part of Southampton port to close down. It is understood around 100 people have been left stranded in the VOCO hotel in Southampton due to the gas leak reported at the port’s Dock Gates 4 and 5, just hours before Cunard's Queen Anne was due to depart at 4pm. There are long queues of traffic which have built up on roads around the terminal, including West Quay Road and the Itchen Bridge. Susan Drecksler, 72, and her husband Lawrence, 77, who has Parkinson’s disease, have been affected by the disruption. Mrs Drecksler, from London, reportedly said: "The whole point of coming to Southampton is you get dropped off, they put you in a wheelchair. We can’t walk. Somehow we have to get some assistance. It’s complete chaos." ABP, that runs Southampton Port, said the leak was adjacent to Ocean Cruise Terminal. An ABP Spokesperson reportedly: "We are working at pace to address this situation and reopen access as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. We will update customers and stakeholders as the situation developments." Mrs Drecksler, reported the Daily Echo , continued: ""It’s awful, it’s a really expensive holiday. It’s a lovely thing, our 20th anniversary, and we were just hoping to get on the ship. Now we’re stuck in a hotel, it’s the no knowledge bit that’s the worst. First they said it could be half an hour, now they’re saying three to four." Southampton City Council has stated that Dock Gates 4 and 5 have been evacuated and that an engineer is currently inspecting the leak, with cars queuing along Platform Road, Town Quay, and West Quay Road. A spokesman for the council reportedly said: "There has been a gas leak affecting Dock Gate 4 and 5. Both gates have been evacuated. An engineer is currently inspecting the leak." The Queen Anne is currently undertaking a series of European voyages and it has just returned from a trip to the Norwegian fjords and northern Europe, a route it is carrying out through 2026. And today it was due at 4pm to go on an 18-night Greece , Adriatic, and Western Mediterranean. The Mirror has contacted ABP for comment.