A striking cruise ship was spotted in Weymouth Bay.

Phoenix Reisen Amera was scheduled to sail to Poole but was found travelling towards Portland at about 6.30am on Thursday morning. 

The German cruise ship has nine decks and has been in operation since May 1988, when it was owned by Royal Viking Line.

It has been in near continuous service ever since and in 2019, ownership was transferred to Phoenix Risen where it underwent a six-week renovation.

Phoenix Reisen Amera is significantly smaller than the two other cruise ships which arrived into Portland Port on Wednesday morning (May 3).

German vessel Mein Schiff 3 and American liner Celebrity Apex brought more than 5,000 new visitors to the area when they docked up yesterday.

Portland Port says it is expecting a 23 per cent increase in cruise ship visitors this year with a record number of passengers set to arrive into Dorset in 2023.

Bill Reeves, chief executive of Portland Port, said: “We are expecting a bumper season of cruise calls with the most passengers annually in a decade of calls at Portland Port."

The arrival of several cruise ships continue amid plans for a controversial Home Office barge for asylum seekers which is set for the port in the 'coming weeks'.

Mr Reeves has defended the port's decision to play host to the barge but the police and council have raised concerns about how it will be funded and operated.