Cruise ship stranded in Greenland could take days to reach
The Danish Joint Arctic Command has dispatched the ship Knud Rasmussen to assist a cruise ship that is stranded in Greenland. The ship could take several days to arrive and offer assistance.
The Danish Joint Arctic Command has dispatched the ship Knud Rasmussen to assist a cruise ship that is stranded in Greenland. The ship could take several days to arrive and offer assistance.
Photo Courtesy of Danish Joint Arctic Command
Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A cruise ship that ran aground Monday off in a national park in Greenland could be stuck for days awaiting assistance, according to Danish authorities.
"On Monday afternoon West Greenlandic time, the Arctic Command received a message that the cruise ship Ocean Explorer was grounded in the Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland, and the ship was not immediately able to be freed on its own help," Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said in a statement posted to Facebook.
The cruise ship Ocean Explorer, which is run by the Australian company Aurora Expeditions, was carrying 206 people when it ran aground, with Danish authorities saying the tides did not dislodge the vessel.
"The tide -- which came during the day, local time -- did not give the desired help to sail on," the Danish Joint Arctic Command said.
According to the Joint Arctic Command, none of the passengers have been injured, though media reports indicate that two passengers have come down with COVID-19 and are in isolation.
The commander of the Danish Joint Arctic Command, Commander Captain Brian Jensen, said that while it will be difficult to evacuate the passengers, there is not an immediate danger to the lives of the people onboard.
"A cruise ship in trouble in the National Park is of course worrisome. There is a long way for immediate help, our units are far from that, and the weather can be very unfavorable. In this specific situation, however, we do not see acute danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring," Jensen said.
According to the Joint Arctic Command, an inspection vessel has been dispatched to help the vessel, but the remote location of the national park means it will take some time for help to arrive.
"Artic Command's closest unit is the inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen, which at the time of the report was approximately 1,200 nautical miles from the cruise ship. This means that Knud Rasmussen can arrive at the grounded ship on Friday morning local time," Joint Arctic Command said.
Arctic Command stressed that "the weather can play a role too."
Jensen said the Joint Arctic Command was trying to find ways to reach the vessel faster.
"We have reached out to relevant partners in the operation area to investigate whether other units have a shorter and faster rout to the grounded ship," Jensen said.
Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A cruise ship that ran aground Monday off in a national park in Greenland could be stuck for days awaiting assistance, according to Danish authorities.
"On Monday afternoon West Greenlandic time, the Arctic Command received a message that the cruise ship Ocean Explorer was grounded in the Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland, and the ship was not immediately able to be freed on its own help," Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said in a statement posted to Facebook.
The cruise ship Ocean Explorer, which is run by the Australian company Aurora Expeditions, was carrying 206 people when it ran aground, with Danish authorities saying the tides did not dislodge the vessel.
"The tide -- which came during the day, local time -- did not give the desired help to sail on," the Danish Joint Arctic Command said.
According to the Joint Arctic Command, none of the passengers have been injured, though media reports indicate that two passengers have come down with COVID-19 and are in isolation.
The commander of the Danish Joint Arctic Command, Commander Captain Brian Jensen, said that while it will be difficult to evacuate the passengers, there is not an immediate danger to the lives of the people onboard.
"A cruise ship in trouble in the National Park is of course worrisome. There is a long way for immediate help, our units are far from that, and the weather can be very unfavorable. In this specific situation, however, we do not see acute danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring," Jensen said.
According to the Joint Arctic Command, an inspection vessel has been dispatched to help the vessel, but the remote location of the national park means it will take some time for help to arrive.
"Artic Command's closest unit is the inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen, which at the time of the report was approximately 1,200 nautical miles from the cruise ship. This means that Knud Rasmussen can arrive at the grounded ship on Friday morning local time," Joint Arctic Command said.
Arctic Command stressed that "the weather can play a role too."
Jensen said the Joint Arctic Command was trying to find ways to reach the vessel faster.
"We have reached out to relevant partners in the operation area to investigate whether other units have a shorter and faster rout to the grounded ship," Jensen said.
A view of the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
(SIRIUS/Joint Arctic Command via AP)
An aerial photo shows the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
An aerial photo shows the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
(Danish Air Force/Joint Arctic Command via AP)
An aerial photo shows the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
An aerial photo shows the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
(Danish Air Force/Joint Arctic Command via AP)
A view of the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
A view of the Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which has run aground in northwestern Greenland, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast. According to authorities no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported.
(SIRIUS/Joint Arctic Command via AP)
BY JAN M. OLSEN
September 13, 2023
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A fishing vessel owned by Greenland’s government will attempt to use a high tide to pull free a Bahamas-flagged luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people that ran aground in the world’s northernmost national park, authorities said.
Capt. Flemming Madsen of the Danish Joint Arctic Command told The Associated Press that the passengers and crew on the ship stranded in northwestern Greenland were doing fine and ”all I can say is that they got a lifetime experience.”
The scientific fishing vessel was scheduled to arrive later Wednesday and would attempt when the conditions were right to pull the 104.4-meter- (343-foot) long and 18-meter- (60-foot) wide MV Ocean Explorer free.
The cruise ship ran aground above the Arctic Circle Monday in Alpefjord, which is in the Northeast Greenland National Park. The park covers 972,000 square kilometers (603,973 square miles), almost as much land as France and Spain combined, and approximately 80% is permanently covered by an ice sheet, according to the Visit Greenland tourism board.
BY JAN M. OLSEN
September 13, 2023
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A fishing vessel owned by Greenland’s government will attempt to use a high tide to pull free a Bahamas-flagged luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people that ran aground in the world’s northernmost national park, authorities said.
Capt. Flemming Madsen of the Danish Joint Arctic Command told The Associated Press that the passengers and crew on the ship stranded in northwestern Greenland were doing fine and ”all I can say is that they got a lifetime experience.”
The scientific fishing vessel was scheduled to arrive later Wednesday and would attempt when the conditions were right to pull the 104.4-meter- (343-foot) long and 18-meter- (60-foot) wide MV Ocean Explorer free.
The cruise ship ran aground above the Arctic Circle Monday in Alpefjord, which is in the Northeast Greenland National Park. The park covers 972,000 square kilometers (603,973 square miles), almost as much land as France and Spain combined, and approximately 80% is permanently covered by an ice sheet, according to the Visit Greenland tourism board.
MORE COVERAGEA Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew has run aground in northwestern Greenland.
Alpefjord sits in a remote corner of Greenland, some 240 kilometers (149 miles) away from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which itself is nearly 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the country’s capital, Nuuk.
The Ocean Explorer’s crew made two failed attempts to get the ship to float free on its own during high tide.
In a statement, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions, which operates the ship, said the passengers and crew members were safe and well and that there was “no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel, or the surrounding environment.”
“We are actively engaged in efforts to free the MV Ocean Explorer from its grounding. Our foremost commitment is to ensure the vessel’s recovery without compromising safety,” the statement said.
Dozens of cruise ships sail along Greenland’s coast every year so passengers can admire the picturesque mountainous landscape with fjords, musk oxen, and the waterways packed with icebergs of different sizes and glaciers jutting out into the sea.
Madsen, of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, said the passengers on the Ocean Explorer were “a mix” of tourists from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the United States and South Korea. Greenland is a semi-independent territory that is part of the Danish realm, as are the Faeroe Islands.
The people onboard “are in a difficult situation, but given the circumstances, the atmosphere on the ship is good, and everyone on board is doing well. There are no signs that the ship was seriously damaged by the grounding,” the Joint Arctic Command said Wednesday.
The weather in the region Wednesday featured sun, a clear blue sky and a temperature around 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the Danish Meteorological Institute.
The Ocean Explorer was built in 2021 and is owned by Copenhagen SunStone Ships, which is part of Denmark’s SunStone Group. It has an inverted bow, shaped like the one on a submarine. It has 77 cabins, 151 passenger beds and 99 beds for crew, and several restaurants, according to the Sunstone Group website.
The Joint Arctic Command said there were other ships in the vicinity of the stranded cruise liner and “if the need arises, personnel from the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol can be at the accident site within an hour and a half.”
On Tuesday, members of the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, visited the passengers and explained the situation, “which calmed them down as some were anxious,” Madsen, who was the on-duty officer for the Joint Arctic Command, said.
The command, which was coordinating the operation to free the cruise ship, said the nearest Danish navy ship was about 1,200 nautical miles (more than 2,000 kilometers or 1,380 miles) away. It was heading to the site and could be expected to reach the grounded ship as soon as Friday.
The primary mission of the Joint Arctic Command is to ensure Danish sovereignty by monitoring the area around the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, including the Arctic Ocean in the north.
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