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The ship, which has passengers from around the world on board, was pulled free from mud and silt by a fishing vessel. "There have not been any injuries to anybody onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull," SunStone Ships said in a statement. The research vessel which pulled the cruise ship belongs to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, a government agency, it said. The ship was freed by a fisheries research vessel at high tide, said the cruise ship's owner, Copenhagen-based SunStone Ships, and the Joint Arctic Command, which coordinated the operation. The Ocean Explorer, on a luxury cruise through the Arctic, ran aground on Monday with 206 passengers and crew on board. "These passengers are currently in isolation. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well," Aurora Expeditions said in a statement.
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However, an excursion last Wednesday with six other people to São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation of some 220,000 people off West Africa, took an unfortunate turn. Jay and Jill Campbell, from Garden City, South Carolina, described their ordeal with a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in an interview with WPDE, their local ABC affiliate. It’s next voyage, a 12-day trip set to depart from Argentina on Oct. 30 and travel throughout Antarctica, costs $13,395 per passenger.
A stranded luxury cruise ship was stuck in Greenland for 3 days. It's finally been pulled free.
“We do have a couple of cases of COVID, but there’s a doctor on board,” Steven Fraser told the outlet, adding he contracted the virus aboard the ship. Authorities have been in contact with another cruise ship in the area and it had been asked to remain nearby to assist should the situation develop. The Ocean Explorer has been stuck since Monday in mud and silt in the Alpefjord national park, some 1,400 kilometres north-east of Greenland's capital Nuuk, Denmark's armed forces said. Greenland, a semi-sovereign territory of Denmark in the north Atlantic with a population of just 57,000, attracts tourists with its rugged landscape and a vast ice cap that covers much of the island.
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"Luckily it’s not a rock that could have caused greater damage to the ship," Jensen said, according to a NBC News translation. Joint Arctic Command Commander Brian Jensen said the Danish Navy believed the ship was stuck in mud and sand. A TikTok video showed the couple waving and begging the crew to wait for them, even though the gangway appeared to have already been removed. It added that the deadline to return was "communicated broadly" over the ship's intercom, in printed communications, and on posts shown at the exits of the ship. The Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement provided to BI by email that eight guests on the tour missed the last tender back to the vessel. They were refused entry to the ship upon their return, according to WPDE, even though they could still see the ship from the shore.
Three people on board the ship have Covid-19, the Sydney-based charter group Aurora Expedition, which organised the cruise, confirmed on Thursday. The Danish military’s joint arctic command confirmed that the ship had been pulled free by the Tarajoq, a trawler and research vessel that made a failed attempted to do so on Wednesday. A representative for Aurora Expeditions, the cruise ship's operator, told Insider that everyone on board the vessel was safe and well. SunStone Ships, the vessel's owner, said the ship will be taken to a port to assess any damage, while the passengers will be flown home.
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Expedition cruise ship pulled free after getting stuck in Greenland - USA TODAY
Expedition cruise ship pulled free after getting stuck in Greenland.
Posted: Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Dozens of cruise ships sail along Greenland's coast every year so passengers can admire the picturesque mountainous landscape, waterways packed with icebergs of different sizes and glaciers jutting out into the sea. Photos shared by Joint Arctic Command on Facebook earlier in the week showed the ship – which is carrying 206 passengers and crew members – on calm water in sunny weather conditions. Officials said there is no evidence the ship had suffered serious damage as a result of the grounding. "We also sincerely appreciate the patience and understanding of our passengers during this process. We remain committed to assisting them as the situation progresses." The Ocean Explorer will be taken to a port where the ship's "bottom damages can be assessed," SunStone Maritime Group said, adding the vessel's passengers will be "taken to a port from which they can be flown back home."
Luxury cruise ship charging $33K per person stranded in freezing Arctic
The Ocean Explorer ship was pulled loose by research vessel Tarajoq, which is run by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command said on Facebook. "There have not been any injuries to any person onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull," SunStone Maritime Group said. The cruise liner began its latest trip on Sept. 2 in Kirkenes, in Arctic Norway, and was due to return to Bergen, Norway, on Sept. 22, according to SunStone Ships.
It said the cruise ship and its passengers will now travel to a port where the damage to the vessel's bottom can be assessed, and the passengers will be taken to a location from where they can be flown home. There was no immediate comment from the tour company that organized the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions. COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer was successfully pulled free on Thursday, three days after running aground in Greenland with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship's owner said. The Ocean Explorer cruise vessel had been stuck since Monday in mud and silt in the Alpefjord national park, 870 miles (1,400km) north-east of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The Ocean Explorer became stuck in mud and silt above the Arctic Circle in Alpefjord, 1,400 km (870 miles) northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk.
As of Tuesday morning, Arctic Command’s closest inspection vessel, Knud Rasmussen, was 1,200 nautical miles (1,381 land-measured miles) from the cruise ship, JAC said. The grounded cruise ship might also get free on its own when the tide is high, Greenland television KNR reported. The Ocean Explorer cruise vessel had been stuck for three days in mud and silt in the Alpefjord national park, some 1,400 kilometres north-east of Greenland's capital Nuuk.
The Ocean Explorer leaned to the side during the operation and passengers were not allowed to go outside, Ms Hill said. "We are actively engaged in efforts to free the MV Ocean Explorer, from its grounding," the representative said. Brian Jensen, the head of operations for the Joint Arctic Command, said in the statement that the situation "is of course worrisome." The Danish military's Joint Arctic Command said an inspection vessel had been due to arrive at the scene on Friday.
Hill said after the crew alerted passengers that there were confirmed cases of Covid, some passengers had chosen to wear masks in the public areas, but others had not. She said the passengers were in good spirits and were being entertained by lectures and stories of expeditions by the crew. But the Joint Arctic Command also noted in a subsequent statement that the Ocean Explorer was still stuck after a tide came in. The ship was eventually dislodged "based on a pull" from a Greenland government-owned trawler called Tarajoq, which means "salt" in Greenlandic, as well as Ocean Explorer's own power. Some of those on board are from Australia, UK, New Zealand, US and South Korea, and were described by passengers Steven Fraser and Gina Hill as "a lot of wealthy older people".
The Danish navy's Knud Rasmussen patrol vessel was expected to arrive at the Alpefjord site on Friday afternoon local time, the JAC said. The Joint Arctic Command said the earliest the Knud Rasmussen might reach the Ocean Explorer is Friday morning local time. Steven Fraser and Gina Hill, a retired couple on board the Ocean Explorer, said passengers' spirits were high despite being stranded.
The Joint Arctic Command has also told another cruise ship in the vicinity of the Ocean Explorer to stay in the area in case the situation escalates. A Danish naval ship already at sea off the coast of southwest Greenland has been diverted and should reach the area by Friday morning. In neighboring Iceland, the coast guard is on standby with a vessel if needed, local authorities said.
The earliest a vessel can reach the Ocean Explorer is Friday morning, according to Danish authorities. Cmdr Brian Jensen of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command said that nobody on board was in danger and that no damage has been reported, but added that officials “take this incident very seriously”. Sydney-based Aurora Expeditions, which chartered the ship and organised the cruise, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "There is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel or the surrounding environment," Sydney-based Aurora said in a statement. Many of the passengers on board are believed to be Australian, along with a mix of tourists from other countries including New Zealand, Britain, the United States and South Korea.
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