COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The operator of a luxury liner that ran aground in Greenland with 206 people on board said Thursday that the MV Ocean Explorer was pulled “safely” by a fisheries research vessel at high tide.
The ship’s owner, Copenhagen-based Sunstone Ships, said this was “done based on the gravitational pull from the (Greenlandic government-owned) ship and the power of the ship itself.” There were no injuries to anyone on board, and there was no environmental pollution or damage to the hull. ”
It added: “The ship and its passengers will now be located in a port where damage to the bottom of the ship can be assessed, and the passengers will be transported to the port from where they will be flown home.”
The cruise ship ran aground over the Arctic Circle. Monday in Alpefjordlocated in Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost national park.
The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined and is approximately 80% permanently covered. ice sheet. Alpefjord is approximately 240 kilometers (149 miles) from the nearest settlement, Itkortormiit, which itself is approximately 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the capital Nuuk.
The Bahamian-flagged cruise ship carries passengers from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. It features an upside-down bow shaped like a submarine, 77 passenger rooms, 151 passenger beds and 99 crew beds, and several restaurants.
This is the latest news. Previous articles from the Associated Press are below.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The operator of a luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland with 206 people on board announced Thursday that at least three passengers have contracted the coronavirus. The announcement comes after a third failed attempt by a fishing research vessel to refloat the cruise ship during high tide on Wednesday.
“These passengers are currently in isolation. They are being cared for by the ship’s doctors, medical team and crew and are doing well,” Australia-based Aurora Expeditions said in a statement. Ta. He added that the other passengers on board the MV Ocean Explorer were “safe and healthy.”
Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Australian retiree Stephen Fraser, who was on board the ship, as saying: It’s a little frustrating, but we’re in a beautiful part of the world. ”
Fraser told the newspaper that he himself contracted coronavirus on the ship.
The cruise ship ran aground over the Arctic Circle. Monday in Alpefjord, located in Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost national park. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined and is approximately 80% permanently covered. ice sheet. Alpefjord is approximately 240 kilometers (149 miles) from the nearest settlement, Itkortormiit, which itself is approximately 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the capital Nuuk.
“Unfortunately, the attempt (to free the ship) was not successful,” the Danish Joint Arctic Force, which is coordinating the operation, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the cruise ship made two unsuccessful attempts to refloat on its own at high tide.
Arctic Command said in a statement that getting the large inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen to the scene was its “highest priority” and was expected to arrive on Friday night as it had to “slightly slow down” en route due to weather. He said that. .
The Bahamian-flagged cruise ship carries passengers from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. It features an upside-down bow shaped like a submarine, 77 passenger rooms, 151 passenger beds and 99 crew beds, and several restaurants.
Arctic Command earlier said other ships were in the vicinity of the stranded cruise ship. Members of the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, a Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, were also nearby. The latter visited the ship on Tuesday and reported that all crew members were in good spirits and no damage to the ship was reported.
The Danish Meteorological Institute said the weather for the next few days is expected to be sunny, with blue skies and temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit).
Denmark’s Maritime Authority has asked Greenland police to investigate why the ship ran aground and whether any laws were broken, a police statement said, adding that no one had been charged or arrested. It added that officers were on board to carry out “initial investigation stages”, including questioning the crew and other parties involved.
The ship’s owner, Copenhagen-based Sunstone Ships, said in a separate statement that the cruise liner began its final voyage in Kirkenes, Norway, in the Arctic on September 2, and departed in Bergen, Norway, on September 22. He said he plans to return. She added that there was “no damage to or contamination of her hull” as a result of the ship’s grounding.
The main mission of the Joint Arctic Force is to ensure Danish sovereignty by monitoring the area around the Faroe Islands and Greenland, including the northern Arctic Ocean. Greenland, like the Faroe Islands, is a semi-independent territory that is part of Denmark.