A comfortably-appointed passenger ship that United Nations peacekeepers in earthquake-battered Haiti call home is still on duty, its rental meter running at $72,500 per day. The tab for U.N. member states is more than $6.5 million since March — and counting.
Both the 480-foot vessel named Ola Esmeralda, and its smaller companion the Sea Voyager — known among U.N. staffers as the “Love Boat” — have been generating controversy ever since their arrival in Haiti was reported on by Fox News.
On May 11, the Love Boat left Haiti after completing its 90-day initial contract with the U.N. — at a cost of roughly $3.5 million. A recent U.N. peacekeeping budget, however, has set aside an additional $6.5 million for Ola Esmeralda to cover rental until the end of August.
Full Story: FOXNews.com – Floating Your Boat? U.N.’s ‘Flotel’ in Haiti Is Vastly Overpriced, Says Expert