A luxury cruise ship has been forced to return to the Japanese port of Yokohama after one of its passengers tested positive for coronavirus.

It’s a chilling reminder of the scenes in February last year when another ship, the Diamond Princess, was held at Yokohama for nearly a month after an outbreak of coronavirus onboard.

NYK Cruises’ Asuka II, which was previously Crystal Harmony, is expected to reach Yokohama, just south of Tokyo, tomorrow morning.

It is understood that all the 295 passengers and 425 crew members had taken COVID tests before boarding.

But one of the passengers later tested positive for coronavirus at a boarding reception on Thursday, forcing the ship to alter its course.

It had been on its way to Hakodate and was due to stop in Aomori and Hokkaido before returning to its home port on 5 May.

The infected passenger is said to be stable and recovering in a cabin that has been isolated, NYK said in a statement, adding that only one other person had been in close contact.

The ship had been scheduled to stop at Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures and return to port on May 5.