St. Mary's students cleared to move onto cruise ship

Coast Guard says safety issues related to docking have been resolved

240 students set to move in this week

After a 24-hour delay, 240 students from St. Mary's College of Maryland were cleared to move onto a cruise ship Tuesday afternoon, a college spokeswoman said.

The students, displaced from two residence halls by pervasive mold growth, have spent the last 10 days living in hotel rooms as far as 45 minutes from campus. They were set to move onto the Sea Voyager on Monday only to be delayed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which found that the cruise ship was listing to one side during a safety check.

President Joseph Urgo said the issue was addressed by slightly repositioning the ship in the St. Mary's River, where it is docked beside campus. Students, who said Monday that they were excited to be reunited in close proximity to the college, are expected to live on the 286-foot ship until the end of the semester.

They will be allowed to move in anytime this week, the college said.

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