A luxury cruise ship with more than 200 passengers and crew on board has run aground and is stranded in a remote part of Greenland. Independent report. The cruise ship operator said all passengers were “safe and well” but a rescue ship would not arrive until Friday. The three-week cruise was scheduled to depart on September 1st and return to port in September. 22. The cruise line reportedly charged passengers as much as $33,000 for the trip. new york post.
Street forbesThe expedition cruise ship, called the Ocean Explorer, became stranded more than 1,350 miles from Greenland’s capital Nuuk around noon on Monday.
From the Artic Commands Facebook page;
“Arctic Command has been in contact with the cruise ship Ocean Explorer and said it is still anchored within the national park.This means that the influence of the tide, which came during the day local time, did not have the desired effect. pic.twitter.com/cmxEyWCzBH
— Ola Joelsen (@OJoelsen) September 12, 2023
“On Monday afternoon, West Greenland time, the Arctic Forces received word that the cruise ship Ocean Explorer ran aground in the Alpefjord in northeastern Greenland and could not be immediately rescued on its own,” Kyodo News Agency said. Arctic Command (JAC) said in a statement.
The Joint Arctic Command also revealed that despite Tuesday’s tides, the ship has so far been unable to free itself.
The ship’s operator, Aurora Expeditions, said there was no immediate danger to the crew or the surrounding environment and there were sufficient supplies on board.
“The nearest aid is far away, our troops are far away, and the weather can be very bad. But in this particular situation, we see no immediate danger to human life or the environment. Of course we is closely monitoring the situation and takes this incident very seriously,” added Brian Jensen of the Danish Army’s Joint Arctic Command.
Satellite image of Ocean Explorer – cruise ship stranded in Alpefjord (East Greenland) – with 206 people on board @CopernicusEU Yesterday’s Sentinel-2. It’s not a very friendly place to get stuck, but the good news is that there are almost no icebergs in the fjord. pic.twitter.com/HV7KwiPvzS
— Bert Wouters (@bert_polar) September 12, 2023
But more concerning is the fact that most of the passengers were Australian, and several cases of coronavirus have been reported on board among the mostly elderly passengers. Sydney Morning Herald.
“Everyone’s fine. It’s a little frustrating, but we’re in a beautiful part of the world. You open your window and we’re sitting right next to a glacier,” says a retired Australian traveling with his wife. said Stephen Fraser.
Fraser added: “We have had a few cases of coronavirus, but we have doctors on board…many of them are quite elderly.”
Officials said the inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen was en route to the stranded cruise ship and was expected to arrive Friday morning.According to reports, the Joint Arctic Command announced that it has asked nearby cruise ships to remain in the area to provide support in case the situation changes. insider.
Built in 2021, the Ocean Explorer is an Infinity Class ship that can accommodate 134 passengers. According to the Aurora Expeditions website, the ship was “built specifically for expedition travel to some of the world’s most wild and remote destinations.”
The next voyage will depart from Argentina on October 30th and will be a 12-day trip around Antarctica, costing $13,395 per passenger. post.