Ambassador Cruise Lines’ vessel Ambition, the second cruise ship chartered in Scotland for displaced Ukrainian refugees, has arrived in Glasgow.
Ambition will be located at King George V docks on the River Clyde for six months.
The deal was disclosed last month ahead of Amibition entering commercial passenger service from its home port of London Tilbury and six regional departure ports next spring.
The ship can host up to 1,750 people in 714 cabins, and joins vessel Victoria I at Leith, also chartered by the Scottish government to accommodate Ukrainian families.
Corporate Travel Management (CTM) has been awarded a contract worth up to £100 million to source and provide travel-related services for displaced people from Ukraine which includes accommodation in hotels and on the two ships.
The Scottish government said it “has worked at pace with the UK Border Force and with the contractor CTM to ensure that people can move on as soon as it is safe to do so”.
Passengers will join and leave Ambition via shuttle bus services which will run 24 hours a day.
People on board the vessel will have access to restaurants, child play facilities, shops, cleaning and communal spaces.
A Scottish government statement said: “Partners will now work to put in place measures around safeguarding, health and safety, public protection and waste management to ensure that the ship is ready to welcome people.
“This will also include work to provide guests on board with access to appropriate support services, including healthcare and benefits support.”
More than 15,000 people have travelled from Ukraine to Scotland since Russia’s invasion in February.
Scotland’s minister with special responsibility for refugees from Ukraine, Neil Gray, said: “The Scottish government is providing accommodation that is safe and sustainable while people are waiting to be matched to suitable longer term accommodation.
“The arrival of the MS Ambition in Glasgow is a key part of that provision which means we are providing sanctuary to more displaced people per head of population than any other part of the UK.
“We are working closely with the council and other local partners to finalise plans for how the ship will be used, with safeguarding of the people on board being the absolute priority.
“Now that the Ambition has arrived, this work will begin at pace and people will move on board once the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council are satisfied that the necessary preparations, including health and safety checks, have been satisfied.
“We do not want people spending more time in temporary accommodation, such as the cruise ships, for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
“We continue to take significant action to increase our temporary accommodation capacity as well as boosting our matching system to maximise the number of people who can be placed with volunteer hosts who have completed the necessary safeguarding checks.”