Luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland is freed Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content

• Officials: No criminal charges in caught-on-camera case of black bear cubs pulled from tree
• Stranded luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer is pulled free at high tide in Greenland
• What happened to the MV Ocean Explorer?
• About Sky News
• Cruise ship runs aground in Greenland with 206 passengers onboard
• Grounded cruise ship carrying thousands refloated
• 'We want to be safe here': People in Tel Aviv react to Israel's attack on Iran

The Ocean Explorer’s crew made two failed attempts to get the ship to float free on its own during high tide. The ship was designed with luxury, offering "state-of-the-art amenities," including an onboard gym, jacuzzi, lounges, a spa, an atrium, a library and more. For an increasingly large number of polar cruisers, Greenland and Svalbard in Norway have become the most popular destinations for Arctic tourism.

Trawler's attempt fails to free grounded cruise ship in Greenland - Reuters

Trawler's attempt fails to free grounded cruise ship in Greenland.

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

Officials: No criminal charges in caught-on-camera case of black bear cubs pulled from tree

Officials hope Norwegian Escape, stranded off the north coast of the Dominican Republic, can be refloated at high tide. Authorities have been in contact with another cruise ship in the area and it has been asked to remain nearby to assist in case the situation changes. The primary mission of the Joint Arctic Command is to ensure Danish sovereignty by monitoring the area around the Faroe 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 Faroe Islands. The Ocean Explorer was built in 2021 and is owned by Copenhagen SunStone Ships, which is part of Denmark’s SunStone Group.

Stranded luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer is pulled free at high tide in Greenland

Alpefjord sits about 150 miles away from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which itself is nearly 870 miles from the country’s capital, Nuuk. "... In the specific situation, however, we do not see acute danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring." 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.

What happened to the MV Ocean Explorer?

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. There are no signs that the ship was seriously damaged by the grounding,” the Joint Arctic Command said Wednesday. The closest ship available to help the vessel can be there no sooner than Friday morning, assuming the weather holds up, the command said, but officials said they were in contact with another cruise ship to standby should they be needed. The Ocean Explorer expedition has been touted as a cruise ship "purpose-built for expedition travel to the world's most remote destinations," complete with "cutting-edge technology" and its "navigation capabilities." And last November, passengers were stranded at a Brisbane port after a Royal Caribbean ship was overbooked. 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.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew has run aground in northwestern Greenland, authorities said Tuesday, adding that no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew has run aground in northwestern Greenland, authorities said Tuesday, adding that no one on board was in danger and no damage has been reported. 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. 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.

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.

Other passengers may face the stress of becoming stranded in remote locations through no fault of their own. Last September, more than 200 people got stuck in a remote part of Greenland after their cruise ship ran aground. It said the cruise ship and its passengers will 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. 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. 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 Danish Joint Arctic Command, which had been coordinating 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. Though cruise ships need to stay punctual, ruined-vacation stories like this are a reputational risk and might put people off. A couple says they were stranded on a small African island after they missed a cruise ship's boarding deadline, according to local media. Officials in the Dominican Republic have confirmed that a large cruise ship had run aground off the Caribbean island nation’s north coast shortly after leaving the port of Puerto Plata.

The couple says the tour overran, and its operator informed the captain that eight passengers were running late. Local media said The Norwegian Escape was on its way to the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. But the Joint Arctic Command also noted in a subsequent statement that the Ocean Explorer was still stuck after a tide came in. The Joint Arctic Command said the earliest the Knud Rasmussen might reach the Ocean Explorer is Friday morning local time. 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. Jensen told Greenland broadcaster KNR that the ship is likely to go to Iceland, the closest place with large ports.

Scientists now fear increasingly warmer water in daily tides are doing much more damage to one of Greenland’s glaciers than they thought. Our foremost commitment is to ensure the vessel’s recovery without compromising safety,” the statement said. The primary mission of the Joint Arctic Command is to ensure Danish sovereignty by monitoring the area around the Faroe Islands and Greenland, two semi-independent territories that are part of the Danish realm.

The grounded cruise ship might also get free on its own when the tide is high, Greenland television KNR reported. The ship was freed by a fisheries research vessel at high tide, according to the cruise ship's owner, Copenhagen-based SunStone Ships, and the Joint Arctic Command, which coordinated the operation. Travelers visit the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the Scoresbysund fjord system and the town of Sisimiut. 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.

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. The cruise liner began its latest trip Sept. 2 in Kirkenes, in Arctic Norway, and was due to return to Bergen, Norway, on Sept. 22, according to SunStone Ships. It’s a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world,” Fraser told the paper, adding that he himself had come down with COVID-19 on the ship. Madsen, of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, said the passengers on the Ocean Explorer were “a mix” of tourists from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the United States and South Korea.

According to the US-based Norwegian Cruise Line’s website, the Norwegian Escape is nearly 326 metres long (1,070 feet) and weighs 165,000 tonnes. It offers trips to "some of the most wild and remote destinations on the planet", Aurora Expeditions said on its website. Brian Jensen, the head of operations for the Joint Arctic Command, said in the statement that the situation "is of course worrisome." The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80 per cent is covered by an ice sheet. 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. The Sydney Morning Herald quoted a retired Australian couple, Steven Fraser and Gina Hill, as saying there were “a lot of wealthy older people” on board.