Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed that the company has been in discussions with New York City to house migrants relocating to the city, though no official decision has yet been made.
The cruise line first shared the details in a statement to Fox News Digital on Saturday.
“The chartering of cruise ships to companies, government entities and other organizations for various uses is a standard business practice across our industry,” a spokesperson for the Norwegian Cruise Line said.
“While we can confirm that New York City has approached us about a potential charter of a cruise vessel, no agreement has been reached and we cannot speculate about the outcome of any ongoing business discussions,” the spokesperson added.
New York City Democrat Mayor Eric Adams first noted last month that migrants bused to his city could temporarily live on cruise ships. The development was revealed during an interview on CBS2’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer” broadcast.
“[W]e examined everything from the legality of using any type of cruise ship for temporary housing. We’re looking at everything to see, how do we deal with this?” Adams told Kramer.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) To House Illegal Immigrants Sent From Texas In Cruise Ships pic.twitter.com/nEAFGRifTe
— Dowop Robinson (@dowop_robinson) September 19, 2022
“We are predicted with the influx of opening, probably, 38 additional emergency shelters. So we have to find temporary measures to address this issue,” he later added.
A second cruise line, Estonia’s Tallink, has also reportedly been in discussions with the city regarding housing migrants on a cruise ship. Tallink previously housed Ukrainian refugees in Estonia earlier this year.
New York City has already opened a “tent city” to house migrants coming to the Big Apple. After originally opening a center at Orchard Beach, flooding concerns have led to the announcement of moving the tent location to the Icahn Stadium parking lot.
“Following this weekend’s storms, New York City Emergency Management determined that, while we would be able to put in place the necessary ponding mitigation measures, relocating the Orchard Beach humanitarian relief center to Randall’s Island is the most efficient and effective path forward, and work is underway to make this move,” Adams said in a statement Monday night.
The city claims more than 16,000 people have gone through its shelter intake process in recent months. The tent location will house up to 500 migrants at a time, according to the mayor’s statement.
Texas reported last week that it had bused more than 8,100 migrants to Washington, D.C., since April, over 2,900 migrants to New York City since August 5, and more than 870 migrants to Chicago since August 31.
“The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities,” according to a statement from Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
Adams blasted Abbott over the migrant busing situation last month during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
“These migrants and asylum seekers are not coming to any particular city, they’re coming to America,” the mayor argued, adding, “This is an American crisis that we need to face – a humanitarian crisis that were made by human hands by some of the governors in our southern states.”
