The Master of a cruise ship at the centre of a vomiting bug outbreak has been given two separate cautions by the City of London Health Port Authority.

Nearly 400 passengers and crew onboard the Marco Polo contracted the norovirus prior to and during the period it was berthed at Invergordon.

The cautions were for failing to report the outbreak of the illness prior to the vessel arriving at Tilbury before it set sail for Invergordon and for failing to supply a completed Maritime Declaration of Health.

The ship’s 10-day cruise was cut short at Invergordon after one passenger died of a heart attack unrelated to the bug, while another six passengers were treated in hospital for symptoms relating to the virus.

Around 120 passengers opted to return to England on a specially chartered train from Inverness, while the rest returned when the ship eventually set sail after three days berthed at the Highland port.

The Port Authority added that the boat received a thorough deep clean on returning to Tilbury and was cleared to depart on its next voyage on July 14.