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A luxury cruise ship is pulled free 3 days after running aground in Greenland

The Associated Press

The Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which had run aground in northwestern Greenland, is pictured on Tuesday SIRIUS/Joint Arctic Command/AP hide caption

The Ocean Explorer, a Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew, which had run aground in northwestern Greenland, is pictured on Tuesday

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer was successfully pulled free on Thursday, three days after running aground in Greenland with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship's owner said.

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.

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. There was no immediate comment from the tour company that organized the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions.

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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. 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.

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.

Earlier Thursday, Aurora Expeditions said three passengers had COVID-19.

"These passengers are currently in isolation. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well," it said in a statement. Others on the MV Ocean Explorer are "safe and healthy," it said.

Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald quoted a retiree from Australia who is on the ship, Steven Fraser, as saying: "Everyone's in good spirits. It's a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world."

Fraser told the newspaper that he had come down with COVID-19 on the ship.

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.

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"Now it is exciting to find out what the condition of the ship is," Jensen was quoted as saying by KNR. "They are in the process of investigating whether the ship is intact and seaworthy and ready to sail on."

The ship's owner said several other vessels had rushed to the scene "and offered their assistance, which however, was not needed." It said it had also "arranged additional tug assistance in case it was needed, however, this has now been canceled."

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.

Danish broadcaster DR said there were 400 cruises in Greenland in 2022 and 600 cruises in 2023.

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.

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The cruise liner began its current trip on Sept. 2 in Kirkenes in Arctic Norway and was due to return to Bergen, Norway, on Sept. 22, according to SunStone Ships.

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.

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

The Ocean Explorer had been traveling toward Northeast Greenland National Park when it ran aground on Monday, officials said. The ship was pulled free on Thursday.

By Eduardo Medina

A luxury cruise ship that had been stuck for three days after running aground off the coast of Greenland was pulled free on Thursday morning, the authorities said.

The ship, the Ocean Explorer, had been carrying 206 passengers and crew members and was headed toward Alpefjord, in a remote corner of Greenland. The ship’s destination was the Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost national park, which is home to icebergs, glaciers and high mountains.

The Joint Arctic Command, which is part of Denmark’s defense forces, and SunStone Maritime Group , the coordinators of the rescue operation, said in statements on Thursday that the ship had been pulled free by a vessel named Tarajoq.

There were no reported injuries on board the ship, and there was no threat to the environment. The ship’s operator, Aurora Expeditions, a cruise company based in Australia, said in a statement on Thursday that “all onboard are safe” and that it appreciated “the patience and understanding of our passengers during this process.”

“We are waiting on the relevant authorities for advice regarding our next steps,” the company said.

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. Bad weather also slowed the government’s rescue operations, officials said.

Before the ship was freed, the Joint Arctic Command had said that “the crew and passengers are in a difficult situation, but after the circumstances, the atmosphere on the ship is good and everyone on board is fine.”

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.

Cruises around Greenland have become increasingly popular with tourists seeking adventure and comfort aboard ships packed with amenities.The Ocean Explorer, built in 2021, was made to “travel to the world’s most remote destinations,” according to Aurora Expeditions’ website .

Prices for a 17-day expedition that tours Greenland start at more than $15,000 per person. The ship has a gym, a Jacuzzi and spacious suites that are 640 square feet, offering guests two large master bathrooms, one master bedroom and expansive views of the sea .

Photos of the stuck Ocean Explorer on Wednesday showed a blue-and-white ship floating in waters with frosted mountain peaks in the distance.

Extreme cold did not appear to be a major issue for stranded passengers on Wednesday: The temperature in the area was around 2.2 degrees Celsius, or about 36 degrees Fahrenheit, that night.

Jenny Gross contributed reporting.

Eduardo Medina is a reporter covering breaking news. More about Eduardo Medina

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Rescue efforts underway for luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland

Several Americans are onboard, according to the State Department.

LONDON -- A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 passengers has run aground off the coast of Greenland.

The Ocean Explorer, a 343-foot long and 60-foot wide ship, ran aground on Monday near Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park -- a 375,000-square-mile area that is the most northerly national park in the world.

There have been no reports of damage to the ship.

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"Arctic Command has been in contact with the cruise ship Ocean Explorer, which has stated that they are still grounded in the National Park," the Joint Arctic Command said in a statement posted on social media. "This means that the tide, which came during the day local time, did not provide the desired help to sail on. Arctic Command is still in contact with relevant ships in the vicinity, which could be able to help the cruise ship free."

Tarajoq, a Greenland Institute of Natural Resources fishing research ship, arrived at the site on Tuesday and attempted to pull the boat out. The attempt was unsuccessful.

Now the Knud Rasmussen, a Danish Navy ship, was headed to The Ocean Explorer for assistance.

"The crew in Knud Rasmussen is doing their best to get there as soon as possible. Due to the weather in the area where Knud Rasmussen is, the ship has had to slow down a bit," Joint Arctic Command said in a statement Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department confirmed there were "several" Americans onboard the cruise ship, but did not have further details.

"Our staff in Greenland and Denmark, as well as here in the United States, are in contact with local authorities and other partner organizations," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

The cruise ship -- belonging to Ulstein Group in Ulsteinvik, southern Norway -- had its maiden voyage only two years ago in 2021, according to AE Expeditions. It features a gym, jacuzzi and off-boat excursions and offers state-of-the-art amenities and “maximum passenger comfort," according to its website.

“Accommodating just 134 expeditioners, the Ocean Explorer was purpose-built for expedition travel to the world’s most remote destinations. This small ship is outfitted with the latest cutting-edge technology, sustainability and navigation capabilities,” AE Expeditions says on its website detailing the vessel.

MORE: Search suspended for man overboard on cruise ship hundreds of miles away from Hawaii

Meanwhile, authorities have been in contact with another cruise ship in the area and it had been asked to remain nearby to assist should the situation develop, according to AP, and rescue efforts are currently underway on multiple fronts.

"The most important thing for us is that everyone gets to safety," Jensen told the AP.

The National Park is so remote that only a limited number of people get the chance to visit each year, according to Greenland's tourist board, and more people summit Mount Everest every year than there are visitors in The Northeast Greenland National Park.

ABC News' Shannon Crawford contributed to this report.

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Luxury cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland with over 200 people on board is freed

By Li Cohen

Updated on: September 14, 2023 / 8:37 PM EDT / CBS News

Officials said the expedition cruise ship that ran aground in northeast Greenland earlier this week with more than 200 people on board wouldn't be able to be rescued until Friday morning at the earliest – but help came early. On Thursday morning, the Joint Arctic Command said that it has been freed.

"Ocean Explorer has been pulled free this morning by the Natural Institute's fishing research ship TARAJOQ," the command said on Facebook Thursday morning, according to a translation. This was the fishing research ship's second attempt at freeing the vessel, the first of which occurred on Wednesday during high tide, but was unsuccessful. 

Ocean Explorer has been touted as a cruise ship "purpose-built for expedition travel to the world's most remote destinations." On the expedition website, it's been described as having "cutting-edge technology" and heralded for its "navigation capabilities." According to Aurora Expeditions, who is using the ship for its excursion, the Ocean Explorer is meant to accommodate 134 passengers with "state-of-the-art amenities." 

Then on Tuesday, with 206 people on board, the ship got stuck in Alpefjord, which is part of the the world's largest national park – the Northeast Greenland National Park. Officials were not concerned about any risk from the incident and said that while it is "worrisome," there was no "acute danger to human life or the environment."

No further information about the condition of those on board has been revealed upon the news of the ship's freedom from the area. 

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Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.

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

No injuries or environmental pollution after ship ran aground.

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The luxury cruise ship MV Ocean Explorer was successfully pulled free in Greenland on Thursday, three days after running aground with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship's owner said.

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 co-ordinating the operation.

It 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 anybody onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull." The name of the Greenland ship was Tarajoq and it belongs to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, a government agency.

The ship's owner 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." There was no immediate comment from the tour company that organized the trip, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions.

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.

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 owner also had "arranged additional tug assistance in case it was needed, however, this has now been cancelled."

Earlier Thursday, Australia-based Aurora Expeditions, which chartered the ship, said three passengers had COVID-19.

"These passengers are currently in isolation. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well," Aurora Expeditions said in a statement. The others on the MV Ocean Explorer were "safe and healthy," it added.

Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald quoted a retiree from Australia, Steven Fraser, who is on the ship, saying: "Everyone's in good spirits. It's a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world."

Fraser told the newspaper that he himself had come down with COVID-19 on the ship.

Dozens of cruise ships sail along Greenland's coast every year so passengers can admire the picturesque mountainous landscape, sometimes barren, with fjords, and the waterways packed with icebergs of different sizes and glaciers jutting out into the sea.

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Danish broadcaster DR said that there were 400 cruises in Greenland in 2022, and 600 cruises in 2023.

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 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 cruise liner began its latest trip on Sept. 2 in Kirkenes, in Arctic Norway, and was due to return to Bergen, Norway, on Sept. 22, according to SunStone Ships.

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.

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Luxury cruise ship with 206 passengers runs aground in Greenland

The danish military's joint arctic command says no one aboard the stranded ocean explorer was injured.

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Cruise ships are seeing more people come on board this summer as 31.5 million people are expected to cruise this year. That would be more than the last full year before the pandemic.

A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 passengers and crew is stranded at a remote national park in Greenland, with the nearest rescue vessel days away, authorities said. 

The Danish military's Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said the Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland National Park, about 870 miles northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk. Personnel from the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit , have boarded the ship to assess the situation. 

No one was injured, and there were no reports of anyone in danger, the JAC said.

"A cruise ship in trouble in the national park is obviously a worry. The nearest help is far away, our units are far away, and the weather can be very unfavorable," Commander Brian Jensen, JAC head of operations, said Tuesday in the statement.

CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER AIRLIFTED BY COAST GUARD 180 MILES FROM CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS

A view of the Ocean Explorer, a luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people that ran aground,in Alpefjord, Greenland, on Tuesday. (Danish Air Force/Arctic Command/Handout via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)

"However, in this specific situation, we do not see any immediate danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring," he added.

The cruise operator, Aurora Expeditions, told Reuters that all aboard were safe and well.

"There is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel or the surrounding environment," the Australia-based company said, per Reuters.

Officials said the ship remains stuck Wednesday after Tuesday's tide failed to lift the 341-foot vessel enough to free it.

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Danish authorities said the nearest vessel able to assist the Ocean Explorer was days away. (Danish Air Force/Arctic Command/Handout via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)

" The tide that came in during the day, local time, did not provide the desired help to sail on," the JAC said in a statement.

Authorities said crew members and passengers are in a "difficult situation," but, despite their circumstances, "the atmosphere on the ship is good and everyone on board is fine." 

"There are no indications that the ship has suffered serious damage from the foundation," the JAC said.

An inspection vessel, the Knud Rasmussen, is en route toward the grounded cruise ship and is expected to arrive on Friday morning, authorities said. 

CELEBRITY CRUISES NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK LEAVES MORE THAN 175 SICK

The Danish Joint Arctic Command deployed personnel from the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol to assess the condition of the Ocean Explorer. (SIRIUS/Arctic Command / Fox News)

Photos taken by a Danish air force plane on Tuesday showed the Ocean Explorer sitting upright in calm waters with the sun shining.

Danish authorities said they have contacted nearby ships to see whether they would be able to help free the Ocean Explorer. 

A fishing vessel owned by Greenland's government is scheduled to arrive later Wednesday and will attempt to use a high tide to free the cruise ship, The Associated Press reported. 

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Built in 2021, the Ocean Explorer is an Infinity-class vessel which can accommodate 134 passengers. According to Aurora Expeditions' website, the ship was "purpose-built for expedition travel to the world’s most remote destinations." 

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.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Luxury Cruise Ship Carrying 206 People Runs Aground in Remote Greenland

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people has run aground in remote eastern Greenland with the nearest help by sea days away, the Danish military's Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said on Tuesday.

The Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in a national park some 1,400 km (870 miles) northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk, the JAC said in a statement.

There were no reports of injuries, JAC said.

"A cruise ship in trouble in the national park is obviously a worry. The nearest help is far away, our units are far away, and the weather can be very unfavourable," JAC head of operations, Commander Brian Jensen, said in the statement.

"However, in this specific situation, we do not see any immediate danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring," he added.

A spokesperson for Australian cruise operator Aurora Expeditions said in an emailed statement everyone on board was safe and well.

The JAC said its nearest unit was an inspection vessel some 1,200 nautical miles away at the time of the incident, meaning it could reach the grounded ship by Friday morning local time at the earliest.

The Arctic command said it had asked a cruise ship located nearer to the Ocean Explorer to stay in the area so that it would be able to assist in case the situation changes.

Completed in 2021, the Ocean Explorer can accommodate up to 134 passengers and offers trips to "some of the most wild and remote destinations on the planet", Aurora Expeditions said on its website.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Nick Macfie)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters .

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The MS Ocean Explorer aground in Alpefjord, part of Northeast Greenland National Park, September 13, 2023. Photo Credit: Air Force/Arctic Command

Cruise Ship’s Grounding Highlights Risk of More Ships in the Arctic

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By Danielle Bochove and Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir (Bloomberg) —

The grounding of a luxury cruise ship off the coast of Greenland on Monday highlighted the irony of touring the fast-warming Arctic on vessels powered by fossil fuels, the main culprit in climate change. But the incident also underscores the recent growth of marine traffic in the region , a trend that raises the risk of accidents and pollution in hard-to-reach places. 

Global warming is destroying vast tracts of polar ice,  opening previously frozen sea routes  through the Arctic for longer periods. In the case of Greenland — where the Ocean Explorer was mired in glacial silt in a remote fjord before finally being freed Thursday — cruise ship traffic has risen 50% in the last year, to about 600 ships, according to Brian Jensen of the Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command. 

That trend is seen across the Arctic. “From the period of 2009 to 2018, ship traffic on a pan-Arctic scale doubled,” said Paul Berkman, lead author of  a 2022 report  on the subject published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Ship traffic is increasing as sea ice is decreasing.” 

The impact is being felt on remote ecosystems and communities as ships burning marine diesel, or methane-emitting liquefied natural gas, increasingly criss-cross the top of the globe. Some studies show the carbon footprint of cruise ships, per passenger, is bigger than that of passenger jets. Globally, maritime transport emits  more CO2 than Germany . 

More ship traffic also means a higher risk of accidents in remote, poorly mapped areas known for harsh and unpredictable weather conditions. 

A 2021 report on Arctic marine disasters  showed a 42% increase  in accidents between 2005 and 2017 north of 58 degrees latitude, which encompasses the Arctic as well as some sub-arctic territory. The report acknowledged gaps in the data, noting that not all Arctic states provided information. 

More than 40 expedition vessels — smaller ships capable of traversing narrow channels and shallow waters — were exploring the Arctic this summer, led by 20 different operators, according to  Cruise Industry News . Popular routes included those across Canada’s Northwest Passage and along the coasts of Greenland, Norway and the Svalbard Archipelago. Of even greater concern, though, are much larger conventional cruise ships capable of carrying thousands of passengers. 

The Icelandic Coast Guard is “very worried” about the rising number of such vessels around Iceland and the Arctic, spokesperson Asgeir Erlendsson said. “If any of those big ships run into trouble, there are many people on board and a rescue mission can take a long time and needs to involve a lot of people,” he said. “This requires international cooperation and using resources like the fishing fleet if needed. Rescuing with a helicopter for instance will be very time consuming under such circumstances.” 

Greenland’s parliament will probably start talks about extending protection of land areas to also include waters, Vivian Motzfeldt, the country’s minister for business, trade and foreign affairs, told the country’s main newspaper, Sermitsiaq.

“The current situation clearly shows that we must and need to work to ensure there are strict, clear and unambiguous legal requirements” starting from the next cruise season, she told the media.

The Ocean Explorer was pulled free by a fishing expedition vessel before a Danish ship sent to rescue people on board was able to reach the ship. Other countries’ Arctic territories are even larger and more difficult to access. The Canadian Coast Guard has seven or eight icebreakers available each year to serve 162,000 kilometers (101,000 miles) of northern coastline, delivering supplies and providing search-and-rescue support. 

Fewer than half of Canada’s primary Arctic shipping corridors have been surveyed to modern standards, said Rashaad Bhamjee, superintendent of navigational programs for the Canadian Coast Guard. Less than 16% of its Arctic waters have been properly mapped. “The worst case scenario, for us, would be having a large cruise ship, or a tanker, run aground or breach its hull.” 

The need to protect the region from environmental disasters has led some Arctic governments, including Canada, the US and Greenland, to  impose bans  on oil and gas exploration. 

“We simply don’t have the technology or the capacity to respond to any sort of emergency or accident,” Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  told  Bloomberg Green  in an August 25 interview about the Arctic. “You think of Deep Water Horizon, or things that happen in the Gulf of Mexico that at least aren’t hindered by sea ice and incredible remoteness — you couldn’t do it.” 

Cargo shipping is also increasing, as melting ice opens routes that can shave days or even weeks off southerly routes. Russia has made transport through its Northern Sea Route a key pillar of future economic development . China’s Arctic policy includes a Polar Silk Road to facilitate travel through the region.  Military interest in the region is on the rise since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All of it spells increased future risks. 

Other potential consequences include ships colliding with marine mammals, light and noise pollution, and the spread of diseases to remote Indigenous communities. 

In the case of the Ocean Explorer , no oil appears to have leaked and the ship was freed with no apparent damage to the hull, and no injuries. Still, it’s a cautionary tale about the potential for disaster in what is still one of the most remote places on Earth. 

“Our worst-case scenario is a large cruise vessel with 8,000 to 9,000 people on board having an emergency in an isolated area,” said Tore Wangsfjord, chief of operations at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre North-Norway, which handles search-and-rescue operations over an area extending to the North Pole. 

Of the Ocean Explorer , he added, “Multiply the number of people on board by 25, and you can imagine the situation.”

–With assistance from Brendan Murray and Christian Wienberg.

© 2023 Bloomberg L.P.

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