Problems in Greenland/Arctic but not SS !!

[rojaan19]

Luxury cruise ship with mostly Australians on board stuck in mud in Greenland Arctic

A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 passengers, mostly Australians, has run aground in remote north-eastern Greenland, and the closest vessel that can help with the rescue is not expected to arrive until Friday.

The Ocean Explorer became stuck at about noon on Monday, Greenland time, in the Alpefjord, roughly 1400 kilometres north-east of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, according to Brian Jensen of the Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk.

 

The ship’s captain initially waited for high tide at midnight to try to float clear, Jensen said by phone. But the mud – a mix of sediment, sand and silt left by a nearby glacier – is exerting suction on the vessel and may be proving too difficult to break.

The ship waited for the next high tide which on Tuesday, but that attempt was also unsuccessful, he said.

 

“Our main priority is the safety of the 206 persons on board,” Jensen said. “It’s very isolated. We’re in the national park, north-eastern Greenland, there’s no population. Luckily, it’s calm and we have time on our side as there’s no imminent threat of a storm.”

A Danish naval vessel already at sea off the coast of south-west Greenland has been diverted and should reach the area by Friday morning, he said. At this point, freeing the ship would likely require a third-party vessel commissioned by Aurora Expeditions, the operator, which is based in Sydney. Most of the passengers are Australian, Jensen said.

“All passengers, the expedition team and crew onboard are safe and well,” Aurora Expeditions, the ship’s Sydney-based operator, said in a statement. “Importantly, there is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel, or the surrounding environment.”

A military flight over the 104.4-metre-long and 18-metre-wide Ocean Explorer confirmed that its hull appeared intact and no oil has escaped. No injuries have been reported and it’s believed the ship which is owned by the Ulstein Group in Ulsteinvik, southern Norway, has plenty of supplies.

I cant post the map but the story is here =

 

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/europe/luxury-cruise-ship-with-206-on-board-runs-aground-in-greenland-arctic-20230913-p5e49m.html?utm_content=top_stories&list_name=FEF27D6C-BBEB-4975-947E-80B973FA57BF&promote_channel=edmail&utm_campaign=pm-news-bt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=2023-09-13&mbnr=MzAwMjA2Njk&instance=2023-09-13-16-14-AEST&jobid=29854448

Me  =

Seeing as most of the passengers are Aussies  -  I hope they have plenty of booze on board  !!   🥂🙃🥂

[jpalbny]

I read about this yesterday as well. What a mess! I'm glad everyone is OK so far.

[AusMum]

we almost booked with them, but it could probably happen to anyone?

 

hate all the loungechair experts coming out calling it a "floating petri dish"

[d9704011]

Where did the 'floating petri dish' come from?  Seems a tad off-topic.

[TLCOhio]

Just had a national story on the NBC-TV Today Show about this ship and this incident.  Major story and situation.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[drron29]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Where did the 'floating petri dish' come from?  Seems a tad off-topic.

Several on board now diagnosed with Covid.

[rojaan19]

No surprise it is news in Oz !   Todays Sydney Morning Herald =

 

"Australians on board a luxury cruise ship that has run aground in remote north-eastern Greenland say spirits are high despite several cases of COVID-19 being reported on board.

The Ocean Explorer became stuck at about noon on Monday, Greenland time, in the Alpefjord, roughly 1400 kilometres north-east of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.

The ship is carrying 206 passengers, mostly Australians, and the closest vessel that can help with the rescue is not expected to arrive until Friday. The cruise was scheduled to run from September 1 to September 22.

Retired Sydney couple from Newport, Steven Fraser and Gina Hill, said the restaurant is still functioning and passengers were occupying their days with talks and presentations from the expedition crew showing how to tie nautical knots.

 

“Everyone’s in good spirits. It’s a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world. We’re sitting right near the glacier when we open our window,” Fraser said, adding that he had contracted COVID-19 on board the ship.

“We do have a couple of cases of COVID, but there’s a doctor on board ... a lot of people on board are quite elderly.

“It’s a cruise that a lot of wealthy older people do because they can get out into these wilderness areas.”

Fraser said the crew had been moving fluids around on the boat and emptied its ballast – the bottom of the ship which carries extra weight.

“They’ve offloaded the anchor ... and they’ve taken the lifeboats, so they’re floating in the water but they’re still attached to the boat, just to try and lighten the load a bit.”

The ship’s captain initially waited for high tide at midnight to try to float clear, according to Brian Jensen of the Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk. But the mud – a mix of sediment, sand and silt left by a nearby glacier – is exerting suction on the vessel and proving too difficult to break.

The ship waited for the high tide on Tuesday, but that attempt was also unsuccessful, he said.

“Our main priority is the safety of the 206 persons on board,” Jensen said. “It’s very isolated. We’re in the national park ... there’s no population. Luckily, it’s calm and we have time on our side as there’s no imminent threat of a storm.”

Jensen said a Danish naval vessel already at sea off the south-west coast of Greenland has been diverted and should reach the area by Friday morning. At this point, freeing the ship would likely require a third-party vessel commissioned by Aurora Expeditions, the operator, which is based in Sydney. Most of the passengers are Australian, Jensen said.

“All passengers, the expedition team and crew onboard are safe and well,” Aurora Expeditions said in a statement. “Importantly, there is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel, or the surrounding environment.”

A military flight over the 104.4-metre long and 18-metre wide Ocean Explorer confirmed that its hull appeared intact and no oil had escaped. No injuries have been reported and it’s believed the ship, which is owned by the Ulstein Group in Ulsteinvik, southern Norway, has plenty of supplies.

Aurora Expeditions specialises in polar trips, including a 30-day cruise costing more than $US33,000 ($51,000) per person, according to its website. The company highlights the experiences it offers to view Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and spot wildlife like polar bears, beluga whales and walruses.

Alpefjord is in the Greenland National Park, the world’s largest and most northerly national park known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast.

Greenland, like many Arctic landscapes, is becoming increasingly concerned about the logistics of mounting expensive rescue operations in remote areas.

The number of cruise ships in Greenland has risen 50 per cent in the past year to 600, Jensen said. Last year, the Joint Arctic Command did one medical evacuation and so far this year has done five, he said."

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lirio]

All my best wishes for all on board.

Newspaper in Brazil is also covering it.

[spinnaker2]

There but for…

 

hoping all stay safe, saddened to hear Covid is aboard as an uninvited pax. I think it is ubiquitous.

Edited September 14, 2023 by spinnaker2

[Host Jazzbeau]

Latest report is that ship was freed and is proceeding to a port for inspection.

[rojaan19]

From the Sydney Morning Herald today  =

 

The luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer was successfully pulled free by a fisheries research vessel, three days after running aground in Greenland with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship’s owner said.

The ship was freed on Thursday (local time) 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.

“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 that pulled the cruise ship belongs to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, a government agency, it said.

 

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 organised the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions.

Passengers Steven Fraser and Gina Hill, a retired couple from Newport in Sydney, said the ship was freed by a fishing vessel called Tarajoq. The Tarajoq doubles as a research boat that records fish numbers.

“What they did this morning is they took our anchor out sideways, dragged it on the ground out sideways to use it as a focal point to twist the boat,” Fraser said.

“Then they attached to the rear of the boat and they used the anchor to twist the boat because we’re sort of stuck on one side.

“So they twisted the boat and lifted it off the ground and then we floated free.”

“The captain is pretty confident there’s no damage – it’s a twin-hulled boat and they’ve actually had guys going down in between the two hulls. It’s got crawlspace and they went down there to inspect.”

 

Earlier this week, the ship made two failed attempts to float free on its own at high tide.