Luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland is freed at high tide : NPR

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• Man gets 11 years for DUI crash that killed 3 returning from Bible study in Placentia
• Fishing trawler fails to free cruise ship grounded in Greenland with 85 Australians on board
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• Greenlandic women plan to sue Danish state over historical contraceptive ‘violation’

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. The number of cruise ships around the world’s largest island has jumped 50% in the past year to 600, Brian Jensen of the Joint Arctic Command said by phone. Last year, the Joint Arctic Command did one medical evacuation and so far this year it has done five, he said.

Man gets 11 years for DUI crash that killed 3 returning from Bible study in Placentia

They visited on Tuesday and reported that everyone on board was fine and no damage to the vessel had been 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. Fraser told the Herald he was one of the passengers with Covid, and added there was a doctor on the ship.

Fishing trawler fails to free cruise ship grounded in Greenland with 85 Australians on board

The Ocean Explorer hasn’t been able to free itself since it ran aground around nearly 900 miles from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. Fraser, a retired Aussie traveling with his wife, and the rest of the passengers may have to wait several more days before being rescued. 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.

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Luxury cruise ship pulled free three days after getting stranded in Greenland - Euronews

Luxury cruise ship pulled free three days after getting stranded in Greenland.

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

A spokesperson for the cruise line said that the ship could not safely dock in Gambia due to adverse weather conditions, adding that efforts are being made for the guests to rejoin the ship in Senegal on Tuesday. 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. The couple says the tour overran, and its operator informed the captain that eight passengers were running late. 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. “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. 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.

SunStone Maritime Group added it had requested additional tug assistance, but the assistance had been canceled. The Ocean Explorer was pulled free from the East Greenland Fjord by a fisheries research vessel, the ship's owner SunStone Maritime Group said in a statement. Earlier Thursday, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions which has chartered the ship, said that three passengers had COVID-19. The elderly passenger who was concussed was returned to the US, where she has made a "safe return," a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said. 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.

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 attempt to do so a day earlier. "We have just successfully become free now. … We are absolutely elated," Gina Hill, an Australian passenger on board the ship, told Reuters on Thursday. 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 crew and passengers are in a difficult situation, but under the circumstances the atmosphere on the ship is good and everyone on board is doing well," the JAC said. 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 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. While the ship was grounded, three passengers tested positive for Covid-19, cruise company Aurora Expeditions said. The MV Ocean Explorer ran aground above the Arctic Circle on Monday in Alpefjord, which is in the Northeast Greenland National Park, the world's northernmost national park.

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The Ocean Explorer became stuck at about noon on Monday in the Alpefjord, roughly 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) northeast of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. The closest vessel available to help with rescue efforts is only expected to reach the scene on Friday. And last November, passengers were stranded at a Brisbane port after a Royal Caribbean ship was overbooked. 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. 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. Greenland, a semi-sovereign territory of Denmark in the North Atlantic Ocean with a population of 57,000, attracts tourists with its rugged landscape and a vast ice cap that covers much of the island.

Greenlandic women plan to sue Danish state over historical contraceptive ‘violation’

Members of the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol - a Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness - were in the vicinity of the stranded ship. Lisa, another passenger, told CNN that her biggest fear at the moment is running out of alcohol, but if the worst did happen, she had a back-up plan. Mr Fraser said he was one of a number of passengers who had tested positive for COVID, but there is a doctor on board.

A luxury cruise ship that ran aground in a remote part of Greenland with 206 people onboard has been pulled free by a fishing trawler. 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. A couple of people on board the ship have tested positive for Covid-19 and have isolated, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing passengers at the ship. 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.

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. A luxury cruise ship carrying more than 200 people — primarily Australians — is stuck in remote northeastern Greenland after two failed attempts to free it from the muddy seabed.

An expedition cruise ship that got stuck in a remote part of Greenland with hundreds of people on board was freed Thursday. A couple says they were stranded on a small African island after they missed a cruise ship's boarding deadline, according to local media. The Ocean Explorer will be taken to a port to assess any damage, while the passengers will be flown home, said SunStone Maritime Group, which owns the vessel. The large trawler sought to pull the cruise ship free during high tide, but the attempt ultimately failed, the Danish military's Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said in a statement.

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. The passengers and crew on board number 206, according to the command, and local media in Greenland have reported that about 170 are paying passengers, with rest making up the crew. 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. “We have just successfully become free now … we are absolutely elated,” Gina Hill, an Australian passenger onboard the ship, told Reuters on Thursday.

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. 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.