Ocean Explorer luxury cruise ship that ran aground pulled free in Greenland

Table Of Content

• Beyond the Poles: The far-reaching dangers of melting ice
• Canada and Denmark end decades-long dispute over barren rock in Arctic
• World’s largest cruise ship prepares to sail as COVID-hit industry rebounds
• Norwegian Cruise Line - Greenland Cruise
• UN rais­es funds to sal­vage oil tanker ‘time bomb’ off Yemen coast
• Microphones dropped into ocean off Greenland to record melting icebergs

It offers trips to "some of the most wild and remote destinations on the planet", Aurora Expeditions said on its website. Earlier Thursday, Aurora Expeditions said that three passengers had become infected with COVID-19 on the ship. There was no immediate comment from the tour company that organised the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions. Jensen told Greenland broadcaster KNR that the ship is likely to go to Iceland, the closest place with large ports. Alpefjord is about 240 km from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which is nearly 1,400 km from the country’s capital, Nuuk. On Wednesday, a research ship owned by the Greenland government unsuccessfully attempted to pull the ship off ground during high tide.

Beyond the Poles: The far-reaching dangers of melting ice

The Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in a national park 870 miles (1,400km) northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk, the Danish military's Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said. The successful rescue operation took place on Thursday, three days after the MV Ocean Explorer ran aground with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship's owner said. 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. “We have just successfully become free now … we are absolutely elated,” Gina Hill, an Australian passenger onboard the ship, told Reuters on Thursday. The Ocean Explorer leaned to the side during the operation and passengers were not allowed to go outside, Hill said. Greenland cruises are the ideal way to see the world and you can see a selection of these cruises from Norwegian Cruise Line.

Canada and Denmark end decades-long dispute over barren rock in Arctic

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”. “All other passengers, Expedition team and crew remain safe and healthy,” Ocean Explorer officials said in a Wednesday statement. The ship's owner said several other vessels had rushed to the scene "and offered their assistance, which however, was not needed." It said it had also "arranged additional tug assistance in case it was needed, however, this has now been canceled." Greenland, a semi-sovereign territory of Denmark in the North Atlantic Ocean with a population of just 57,000, attracts tourists with its rugged landscape and a vast ice cap that covers much of the island. The Ocean Explorer will be taken to a port to assess any damage, while the passengers will be flown home, said SunStone. The Joint Arctic Command confirmed that the ship had been pulled free by the Tarajoq, a trawler and research vessel that made a failed attempt to do so on Wednesday.

World’s largest cruise ship prepares to sail as COVID-hit industry rebounds

"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. 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. 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.

Video Luxury cruise ship runs aground near Greenland - ABC News

Video Luxury cruise ship runs aground near Greenland.

Posted: Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In total, WPDE said that nine passengers were not allowed to reenter the ship, including four elderly people and one person who is a paraplegic. A couple says they were stranded on a small African island after they missed a cruise ship's boarding deadline, according to local media. A representative for Aurora Expeditions, the cruise ship's operator, told Insider that everyone on board the vessel was safe and well. "They can either try to get out on their own help when the tide becomes high, they can get help from a nearby cruise ship, they can get assistance from Knud Rasmussen, or they can get help of one of our collaborators," Jensen said.

UN rais­es funds to sal­vage oil tanker ‘time bomb’ off Yemen coast

Greenland is a semi-independent territory that is part of the Danish realm, as are the Faroe Islands. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well,” Aurora Expeditions said in a statement. 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. The Ocean Explorer was built in 2021 and is owned by Copenhagen SunStone Ships, which is part of Denmark’s SunStone Group. It has 77 cabins, 151 passenger beds and 99 beds for crew, and several restaurants, according to the Sunstone Group website. 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.

Expedition cruise ship pulled free after running aground in Greenland - USA TODAY

Expedition cruise ship pulled free after running aground in Greenland.

Posted: Fri, 15 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Microphones dropped into ocean off Greenland to record melting icebergs

Greenland is a semi-independent territory that is part of the Danish realm, as are the Faeroe Islands. “We have just successfully become free now … We are absolutely elated,” Gina Hill, an Australian passenger on board the ship, told Reuters on Thursday. For an increasingly large number of polar cruisers, Greenland and Svalbard in Norway have become the most popular destinations for Arctic tourism. The Joint Arctic Command, which is part of Denmark’s defense forces, and SunStone Maritime Group, the coordinators of the rescue operation, said in statements on Thursday that the ship had been pulled free by a vessel named Tarajoq. The coastal ship Sarfaq Ittuk sails from southern Greenland up along Greenland’s west coast to Disko Bay. Cruise ship tourism in Greenland is still in its infancy, and there are lots of places in the country that cruise ship guests have not yet seen.

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. A luxury cruise ship that was stuck in a remote part of Greenland for three days after running aground with 206 people on board has been pulled free by a fishing trawler. Denmark’s Danish Maritime Authority have asked police in Greenland to investigate why the ship ran aground and whether any laws had been violated, a police statement said, adding that no one has been charged or arrested. An officer had been on board the ship to carry out “initial investigative steps, which, among other things, involve questioning the crew and other relevant persons on board,” it added. The ship was freed by a fisheries research vessel at high tide, said the cruise ship’s owner, Copenhagen-based SunStone Ships and the Arctic Command, which had been coordinating the operation.

"However, in this specific situation, we do not see any immediate danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring," he added. 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. The name of the research ship was Tarajoq and it belongs to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, a government agency. The cruise liner began its current trip on 2 September in Kirkenes in Arctic Norway and was due to return to Bergen, Norway, on 22 September, according to SunStone Ships. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80 per cent is covered by an ice sheet. The 104.4-metre-long and 18-metre-wide Ocean Explorer ran aground in Alpefjord, above the Arctic Circle in the Northeast Greenland National Park.

The Danish Maritime Authority asked police in Greenland to investigate why the ship ran aground and whether any laws had been violated, a police statement said, adding that no one has been charged or arrested. An officer has been on board the ship to carry out “initial investigative steps, which, among other things, involve questioning the crew and other relevant persons on board,” 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 organized the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions.

A walk through the colonial harbor district in Nuuk offers insights into the evolution of Greenland from a Danish colony to a self-governing entity. The local communities in Ittoqqortoormiit and Upernavik retain their traditional way of life, offering a glimpse into the harmonious co-existence of humans and nature. This applies to, for example, Ilulissat with the UNESCO-protected ice fjord, and also occasionally to Qeqertarsuaq on the formerly volcanic Disko Island, where dog sledding on Lyngmarksbræen is possible during the summer.

“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 Bahamas-flagged cruise ship has passengers from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. It has an inverted bow, shaped like the one on a submarine, 77 cabins, 151 passenger beds and 99 beds for crew, and several restaurants.

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. 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. 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. The cruise ship ran aground above the Arctic Circle on Monday in Alpefjord, which is in the Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost national park. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80 per cent is permanently covered by an ice sheet. Alpefjord sits about 240 kilometres (149 miles) away from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which itself is nearly 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) from the country’s capital, Nuuk.