A luxury cruise ship has run aground in a remote part of Greenland with 206 people on board (Picture: Reuters)
Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded in the Arctic for days on end after a cruise ship ran aground in an extremely remote area of Greenland.
More than 200 people are on board the luxury Ocean Explorer which charges up to £26,000 a ticket – but it’s currently stuck 600 miles inside the Arctic Circle.
The vessel, operated by Aurora Expeditions, ground to a halt on Monday after hitting sand and mud along a stretch of water in Alpefjord in the country’s national park on the east coast
A spokesman for the Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said: ‘The ship has tried to free itself several times at high tide – unfortunately without success.’
‘The nearest help is far away,’ said Brian Jensen, the head of operations for the JAC, who admitted the situation is ‘worrisome’.
He said: ‘Our units are far away, and the weather can be very unfavorable.
‘It’s very isolated. We’re in the national park… there’s no population. Luckily, it’s calm and we have time on our side as there’s no imminent threat of a storm.’
The Ocean Explorer is stranded and awaiting rescue (Picture: AP)
The Knud Rasmussen vessel, from the Danish Defence, has been scrambled to help free the stranded ship but it was 1,200 nautical miles (1,380 miles) away and is not expected to arrive until Friday evening.
It is the nearest ship able to realistically perform a rescue for the cruise, which was scheduled to run from September 1 to September 22.
On Wednesday morning, a nearby fishing research boat named Tarajoq attempted to pull Ocean Explorer off the ground at high tide but failed, the JAC said on Facebook.
Officials say getting the Knud Rasmussen rescue boat to the scene as quickly as possible is still their ‘first priority’.
Passengers have been trapped on board to grounded ship since Monday afternoon and the nearest rescue boat is coming from 1,200 nautical miles away (Picture: AP)
But adverse weather conditions on its approach route have caused further delays and forced it to slow down, meaning those on board Ocean Explorer can only wait and hope to be rescued.
Passengers who would’ve likely paid anywhere between £11,000 and £26,000 for a ticket, according to the Aurora Expeditions website, are already into their fourth day of waiting to be saved as of Thursday.
On Tuesday, a Royal Danish Air Force surveillance plane flew over the grounded cruise ship and snapped pictures from above to help ‘assess the situation on site’.
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The Joint Arctic Command added: ‘When the inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen arrives at the ship, the crew will assess the situation and plan the next course of action.
‘One possibility among several is that Knud Rasmussen can try to pull the cruise ship free. There are also other ships in the vicinity of the cruise ship that Joint Arctic Command may ask to assist.
‘Joint Arctic Command has been in contact with another cruise ship which is in the vicinity of the Ocean Explorer. This ship has been asked to remain in the area to assist should the situation develop.
‘There are 206 passengers and crew members on board the ship. There is fortunately still no report that human life or the environment is in danger, and Joint Arctic Command is following the situation closely.’
The Ocean Explorer became stuck on sand and mud and is awaiting rescue from a ship which is due to arrive on Friday evening (Picture: Joint Arctic Command/Carl Dilling Rasmussen)
The boat has been sat in the remote fjords of Greenland for four days and one passenger said it is ‘frustrating’ but they are in a ‘beautiful part of the world’ (Picture: Joint Arctic Command)
To add to the passenger woes, several cases of Covid-19 are now also being reported on board the ship.
A retired couple from Sydney, Australia said the restaurant is still open and the crew are helping to keep people entertained by showing them how to tie nautical knots.
Steven Fraser, who is on the cruise with his partner Gina Hill and has contracted coronavirus, told The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘It’s a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world. We’re sitting right near the glacier when we open our window.
‘We do have a couple of cases of COVID, but there’s a doctor on board … a lot of people on board are quite elderly.
‘It’s a cruise that a lot of wealthy older people do because they can get out into these wilderness areas.’
According to its website, Aurora Expeditions specialises in polar trips and highlights the experiences it offers to view Ilulissat Icefjord, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as spot wildlife such as polar bears, beluga whales and walruses.
Alpefjord lies in the Greenland National Park, which is the world’s largest and most northerly national park known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast.
Last week, three sailors were saved from a sinking boat after it was attacked by sharks.
In August, British tourists were ‘left in tears’ after a P&O cruise ship crashed into an oil tanker in Majorca.
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