Luxury Cruise Ship That Ran Aground in Greenland Is Freed After 4 Days

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• On a patch of earth 'big as a Bunnings car park', renters get to muscle in on the solar boom
• How vertical farming may put Australia's ancient edible plants on our dining tables
• Lily, 11, was playing in a park when fire ants swarmed her body
• 'Nothing short of horrifying': Rental affordability in Australia the worst it's ever been, report says
• A luxury cruise ship is pulled free 3 days after running aground in Greenland

The Ocean Explorer, on a luxury cruise through the Arctic, ran aground on Monday with 206 passengers and crew on board. Though cruise ships need to stay punctual, ruined-vacation stories like this are a reputational risk and might put people off. The cruise line said the passengers missed the "all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time." It said it was a "very unfortunate situation" but that passengers were responsible for being on time. 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.

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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 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 17-day expedition ticket price is steep — at more than $15,000 per person, the luxury liner includes large suites, a gym, a Jacuzzi “and expansive views of the sea,” The New York Times reported.

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The ship was eventually dislodged "based on a pull" from a Greenland government-owned trawler called Tarajoq, which means "salt" in Greenlandic, as well as Ocean Explorer's own power. There was no immediate comment from the tour company that organised the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions. The Ocean Explorer was dragged free by a fishing research vessel owned by Greenland’s government, Denmark’s military’s Joint Arctic Command said in a brief Facebook statement on Thursday. "There is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel or the surrounding environment," Sydney-based Aurora 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.

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Joint Arctic Command Commander Brian Jensen said the Danish Navy believed the ship was stuck in mud and sand. It was unclear what caused the ship to run aground near Greenland, which is part of Denmark but has autonomy over most domestic affairs. Officials said there were no indications that the ship had suffered serious damage to its foundation. A TikTok video showed the couple waving and begging the crew to wait for them, even though the gangway appeared to have already been removed. It added that the deadline to return was "communicated broadly" over the ship's intercom, in printed communications, and on posts shown at the exits of the ship.

It’s next voyage, a 12-day trip set to depart from Argentina on Oct. 30 and travel throughout Antarctica, costs $13,395 per passenger. Fraser, one of 90 Australians aboard, told The Morning Herald that the crew had already attempted to lighten the ship and dig itself out from the ocean floor, which is a mix of sediment, sand and silt left by a nearby glacier. Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said in a statement that no one on board has been injured, and the ship hasn’t sustained any damage, according to Arctic Command Commander Captain Brian Jensen. “It’s a cruise that a lot of wealthy older people do because they can get out into these wilderness areas,” Fraser told the Australian news site.

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. The cruise ship ran aground Monday above the Arctic Circle in Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost national park. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80% is covered by an ice sheet. Alpefjord is about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which is nearly 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the country’s capital, Nuuk.

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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. 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. A luxury cruise ship that charged passengers $33,000 has run aground in a remote area of Greenland — and will be stranded for days in the freezing Arctic waiting for help to arrive, according to reports. 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. The ship was freed 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. The ship was freed 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.

With the closest Danish Defence ship over 2,000km away at the time of the incident, help was not expected to arrive until Friday evening. "If everything goes well, they will help the ship get out of this emergency that they're in at this moment. But it depends on how everything looks when they arrive on Friday so we need to see how it goes," a JAC spokesperson said. But the Joint Arctic Command also noted in a subsequent statement that the Ocean Explorer was still stuck after a tide came in. "The nearest help is far away, our units are far away, and the weather can be very unfavorable," Jensen said. "However, in this specific situation, we do not see any immediate danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring."

Luxury Ship Charging $33,000 a Person Awaits Rescue in Greenland's Arctic - MSN

Luxury Ship Charging $33,000 a Person Awaits Rescue in Greenland's Arctic.

Posted: Sun, 21 Apr 2024 23:47:00 GMT [source]

The São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard even took the passengers to the ship, but they weren't able to get on and had to turn back, WPDE reported. 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. Passengers and crew reported being healthy and safe overall, but three passengers went into isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, CNN reported.

Cmdr. Brian Jensen of the Joint Arctic Command told Greenland broadcaster KNR that the ship is likely to go to Iceland, the closest place with large ports. Danish police have opened a preliminary investigation into the grounding to determine if there was any wrongdoing. Photos of the stuck Ocean Explorer on Wednesday showed a blue-and-white ship floating in waters with frosted mountain peaks in the distance. The Ocean Explorer had been traveling toward Northeast Greenland National Park when it ran aground on Monday, officials said.

Alpefjord sits about 149 miles away from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which itself is nearly 870 miles from the country's capital, Nuuk. There are few hydrological surveys of the area where the cruise ship ran aground, making it difficult to assess the sea depths. The Ocean Explorer will be taken to a port where the ship's "bottom damages can be assessed," SunStone Maritime Group said, adding the vessel's passengers will be "taken to a port from which they can be flown back home."

The cruise ship ran aground Monday above the Arctic Circle in Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland National Park, the world's northernmost national park. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80% is covered by an ice sheet. Alpefjord is about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which is nearly 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the country's capital, Nuuk.

The earliest a vessel can reach the Ocean Explorer is Friday morning, according to Danish authorities. Jensen told Greenland broadcaster KNR that the ship is likely to go to Iceland, the closest place with large ports. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80 per cent is covered by an ice sheet. On Wednesday, a research ship owned by the Greenland government unsuccessfully attempted to pull the ship off ground during high tide.

200 People Stranded After Luxury Cruise Ran Aground in Greenland - Business Insider

200 People Stranded After Luxury Cruise Ran Aground in Greenland.

Posted: Tue, 12 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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. Greenland is a semi-independent territory that is part of the Danish realm, as are the Faeroe Islands. 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. “We have just successfully become free now … We are absolutely elated,” Gina Hill, an Australian passenger on board the ship, told Reuters on Thursday. Australian passengers Gina Hill and Steven Fraser told The Sydney Morning Herald they were among the passengers who had been stranded on the ship. While the ship was grounded, three passengers tested positive for Covid-19, cruise company Aurora Expeditions said.

The Campbells told the news outlet that the ninth passenger was late for another reason — an 80-year-old woman who got a concussion on the island and was hospitalized there. They were refused entry to the ship upon their return, according to WPDE, even though they could still see the ship from the shore. "Now it is exciting to find out what the condition of the ship is," Jensen was quoted as saying by KNR. "They are in the process of investigating whether the ship is intact and seaworthy and ready to sail on." 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.

The cruise liner began its current 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 Ocean Explorer will be taken to a port to assess any damage, while the passengers will be flown home, said SunStone. “There have not been any injuries to any person onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull,” SunStone said.