In the afternoon of Monday, 11 September, Aurora Expeditions’ luxury cruise ship Ocean Explorer ran aground in Alpefjord, located in a national park off Greenland’s northeast coast, about 600 km north of the Arctic Circle.
The ship got stuck on a bed of sand and mud and despite several attempts at freeing itself at high tide, the efforts remained unsuccessful. Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command (JAC) has dispatched vessels to the scene, the Sirius Sled Patrol being first to arrive. JAC has also sent a Challenger surveillance plane to take pictures of the ship to help assess the situation on site.
While Sirius personnel confirmed all 206 people onboard, 112 passengers and 94 crew) the cruise ship are safe, the closest inspection vessel, Knud Rasmussen still has a long journey before reaching Ocean Explorer. At the time of the distress signal, the vessel was 1,200 nautical miles (about 2,222) km away from the scene. Due to additional unfavourable weather slowing down Knud Rasmussen, it is not expected to arrive at the scene before Friday evening.
In the meantime, Wednesday morning, a fishing research ship from Greenland’s Institute of Nature reached the cruise ship and attempted to pull Ocean Explorer off the sand bed during high tide. Unfortunately, this was also unsuccessful, so the crew and passengers still have to wait for further help to arrive.
On Thursday morning Aurora Expeditions confirmed that three passengers aboard the ship have Covid-19. The tour agency said they have been placed in isolation and no other guests show any signs of infection.
The Arctic Command has confirmed that there is no “immediate danger to human life or the environment”, the Danish Armed Forces being present on board and ensuring everybody onboard is safe.
Despite the seemingly dire situation, passengers’ spirits are reported to remain high. One guest told CNN affiliate Nine News that her “biggest concern” was running out of alcohol. When that happens, she jokingly pointed out that she might be swimming back to Iceland.
