The QM2 docks at Fremantle after coronavirus diversion

The city of ports, Fremantle is enjoying a tourism windfall courtesy of an unscheduled detour by thousands of passengers and crew on board the enormous Queen Mary 2 luxury cruise liner.

The ship was in Colombo, Sri Lanka earlier this month and was expected to travel through Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong before docking in Fremantle in March.

It stopped off in Malaysia last week to refuel and allow 200 passengers to disembark, however, no other passengers were allowed to board.

Cunard, a hugely successful Cruise operator, cancelled the remainder of this South-East Asian leg of this round-the-world cruise, expressing a desire to “mitigate the risks to our guests and crew” posed by coronavirus travel bans and port restrictions.

Passengers spent two weeks at sea, while the itinerary was changed, with the boat finally docking at Fremantle on Tuesday, a month early.

It would stay in port for two days before sailing on a revised itinerary through northern and southern Australia, returning to Fremantle in mid-March.

It meant thousands of passengers and crew would wind up spending two more nights than initially intended in the city.