Luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland freed after 3 days National

Table Of Content

• A cruise ship passenger was rescued by the Coast Guard after hours in Gulf waters
• Ocean Explorer runs aground in Alpefjord within the National Park in East Greenland
• Luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland freed after 3 days
• No injuries or environmental pollution after ship ran aground
• MV Ocean Explorer joins Quark Expeditions' fleet
• Beyond the Poles: The far-reaching dangers of melting ice

To make matters worse, several cases of COVID have been reported on board among the mostly elderly passengers, most of whom are Australian, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. 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. Alpefjord is about 240 km from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which is nearly 1,400 km from the country’s capital, Nuuk. Ocean Explorer was officially christened in Flynn Cruiseport Boston (MA USA) on October 25, 2021.

A cruise ship passenger was rescued by the Coast Guard after hours in Gulf waters

During the 5-day sea trials, the boat's machinery was tested by 150+ personnel, including crew, shipyard technicians, CMIH managers, Bureau Veritas representatives, SunStone Ships marine advisors. CMIH also signed an agreement with the Finnish company "IS Makinen Inc" to pre-fabricate the vessels' cabins, wet units and interior public spaces. For this purpose, Makinen established a cabin assembly plant and an interior workshop facility at the shipbuilding yard in China. Each stateroom has a private, full-size bathroom with shower / WC, hairdryer, premium bath amenities. There are a total of 20 pairs of connecting rooms (balconied cabins) that can be booked as one "family stateroom" for up to 6 persons. On June 20th, Vantage Travel laid off all its employees, after quietly postponing all its voyages through August 28th.

Ocean Explorer runs aground in Alpefjord within the National Park in East Greenland

The Ocean Explorer became stuck in mud and silt above the Arctic Circle in Alpefjord, 1,400 km (870 miles) northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk. Three people on board the ship have Covid-19, the Sydney-based charter group Aurora Expedition, which organised the cruise, confirmed on Thursday. For example, the populated sections of Greenland are all found on the coast because this area is free of ice. Oceanwide’s Polar Class 6 vessel Hondius set sail from her homeport Vlissingen in the Netherlands on Sunday, delivering passengers to her first Arctic voyage of the season. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80 per cent is covered by an ice sheet.

Luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland freed after 3 days

Reportedly, since January 1st, 2020, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office (run by Andrea Joy Campbell) received a total of 1120 consumer complaints about the cruise company, including 478 (2023-filed) and 108 (from Massachusetts residents). “All other passengers, Expedition team and crew remain safe and healthy,” Ocean Explorer officials said in a Wednesday statement. The 112 passengers and 94 crew on the Australian tour operator's cruise had set off from Norway on 2 September and were due to return on 22 September. The cruise vessel will be taken to a port to assess any damage to it, SunStone said in a press release. Earlier Thursday, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions, which chartered the ship, said three passengers had COVID-19. Prices for a 17-day expedition that tours Greenland start at more than $15,000 per person.

Photos of the stuck Ocean Explorer on Wednesday showed a blue-and-white ship floating in waters with frosted mountain peaks in the distance. 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. The rescue came after an unsuccessful attempt on Wednesday, in which a fishing research vessel owned by the government of Greenland tried and failed to pull free the Ocean Explorer at high tide.

Ship management services include staffing, hotel services, housekeeping, onboard food and beverages, purchasing supplies, logistics. CMI Leisure is among the world's leading companies providing small-ship management services. With the highest for passenger vessel ice-class 1A (Polar Class 6 / PC6), MS Ocean Explorer has icebreaking capacity 1 m (3 ft) and complies with the maritime industry's latest polar code requirements and specifications. For the interior designs of this entire series of SunStone-owned ships was contracted the Weston Florida-based company Tomas Tillberg Design. Four more units were intended but eventually canceled and replaced by the new BOUNDLESS Class boats. “There have not been any injuries to anybody onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull,” the ship’s owner said.

Pacific Travel Partners also committed to honoring the obligations to unsecured creditors, including Vantage's clients who had paid for not-yet-received travel services. These clients were provided with credits to be used towards future voyages with Pacific Travel Partners. In May 2023, the two Vantage Travel-chartered ships Ocean Explorer (May 29th) and Ocean Odyssey (May 31st) arrived and were permanently moored/docked in Caen (France). Reportedly, the laid-up (by SunStone Ships Inc) was for 3 months and was requested by the charterer experiencing financial difficulties. 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.

The Joint Arctic Command, part of Danish defense forces, said in a statement that the expedition cruise ship was pulled free by the Tarajoq, which is operated by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. The Ocean Explorer, carrying 206 passengers and crew on a voyage to observe rugged glacial terrain, ran aground in an area advertised as the largest and northernmost national park in the world. 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 kilometers away from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which itself is nearly 1,400 kilometers from the country's capital, Nuuk. Aurora Expeditions’ Ocean Explorer, an Australia-based cruise operator carrying 206 passengers and crew, got stuck Monday while navigating through Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost park situated between two glaciers.

A Luxury Cruise Ship, Stuck Off Greenland’s Coast for 3 Days, Is Pulled Free

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 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. From the midnight sun to the northern lights, the great polar bear to the colossal blue whale, the full range of this mythic environment’s awe-inspiring attractions are possible on our many Greenland cruises. Our ice-strengthened cruise ships, Plancius and Ortelius, will provide you a comfortable home base from which to embark on daily expeditions, allowing you to dig deep into the Greenland experience.

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. "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. 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. In the days before the ship was freed, Danish authorities scrambled to find solutions, including contacting nearby ships and dispatching local units.

"They are in the process of investigating whether the ship is intact and seaworthy and ready to sail on." 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." Earlier Thursday, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions which has chartered the ship, said that three passengers had COVID-19. 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. Fraser, a retired Aussie traveling with his wife, and the rest of the passengers may have to wait several more days before being rescued.

Expedition Cruise Ship "Ocean Explorer" Aground in Greenland - gCaptain

Expedition Cruise Ship "Ocean Explorer" Aground in Greenland.

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

The Ocean Explorer cruise vessel had been traveling toward Alpefjord, in a remote corner of Greenland, when it ran aground on Monday. 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.

The special event was led by the ship's two godmothers - Patricia Lewis (Vantage Deluxe World Travel's VP Special Events, and wife of the company's founder Henry Lewis) and Deirdre Dirkman (Vantage Deluxe World Travel's VP Worldwide Operations). The onboard expedition team (5-17 persons) are certified experts who curate themed lectures during the voyage. Live music performances, cultural events and alcoholic beverages during dinner (beers and wine by the glass) are also complimentary.

One passenger aboard the ship told Reuters news agency that the Ocean Explorer leaned to the side during the operation and they were not allowed to go outside. A combination of a pull from that ship, owned by Greenland's government, and the Ocean Explorer's own power freed the cruiseliner, according to the Copanhagen-based SunStone Maritime Group, which owns the Ocean Explorer. The park, which is located some 1,400 kilometers (around 870 miles) northeast of the country's capital, Nuuk, is nearly the size of France and Spain combined.