The operator of a luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland with 206 people on board says the MV Ocean Explorer has been “successfully” pulled free by a fisheries research vessel.
The ship’s owner, Copenhagen-based SunStone Ships, said Thursday’s high tide salvage was done “based on a pull from the vessel (owned by the Greenland government) and vessel’s own power.”
“There have not been any injuries to any person onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull,” the company said.
It added that “the vessel and its passengers will now be positioned to a port where the vessel’s bottom damages can be assessed, and the passengers will be taken to a port from which they can be flown back home”.
The Bahamas-flagged cruise ship has about 90 passengers from Australia, as well as others from New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Liz, from Wodonga in Victoria, told Today on Thursday about the lead-up to the cruise ship running aground.
“We were standing on our balcony because we had just taken off from the glacier and we realised very quickly that we were about to get stuck in the mud,” she said.
“So having been a bit of a boatie myself, you could feel the pull of the boat as we pulled up and realised we were in trouble straight away.”
The cruise ships that started it all
“These passengers are currently in isolation. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well,” the Australia-based Aurora Expeditions said in a statement.
Sydney couple Steven Fraser — who has come down with COVID-19 — and Gina Hill said the expedition crew was occupying passengers with talks and the restaurant was still operating.
“It’s a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world.
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“We’re sitting right near the glacier when we open our window.”
The others on the MV Ocean Explorer were “safe and healthy”, Aurora said.
Earlier this week, the cruise ship made two failed attempts to float free on its own during high tide.
In a statement, the Arctic Command said its “first priority” was to have its larger inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen reach the site, saying the ship was expected Friday evening after it had to “slow down a bit” on its way because of the weather.
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’s owner, Copenhagen-based SunStone Ships, said in a separate statement that the cruise liner began its latest trip on September 2 in Kirkenes, in Arctic Norway, and was due to return to Bergen, Norway, on September 22.
It added that there was “no breach of the hull and no pollution” as a result of the ship’s running aground.
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.
