A high-end cruise ship, carrying 206 passengers, that became stranded in a remote area of Greenland earlier this week was successfully pulled free by a fishing trawler on Thursday.
The Ocean Explorer luxury cruise vessel had been marooned since Monday, firmly stuck in mud and silt within Greenland’s Alpefjord national park, located approximately 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) northeast of Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.
Gina Hill, an Australian passenger aboard the ship, expressed her relief on Thursday, stating, “We have just successfully become free now. … We are absolutely elated.” During the operation, the Ocean Explorer leaned to the side, and passengers were restricted from going outside, as per Hill’s account.
The Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command confirmed that the Tarajoq, a trawler and research vessel, successfully pulled the ship free after a failed attempt on Wednesday.
Following the successful refloating, the Ocean Explorer will be transported to a port for a thorough damage assessment. Meanwhile, the passengers will be flown back home, according to SunStone Maritime Group, the owner of the cruise vessel.
SunStone assured that there were no injuries to passengers or crew, no environmental pollution, and no breach of the ship’s hull during the grounding incident.
Aurora Expeditions, based in Sydney and responsible for chartering the ship and organizing the cruise, had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.
Greenland, a semi-sovereign territory of Denmark nestled in the North Atlantic Ocean with a small population of 57,000, attracts tourists with its rugged landscapes and vast ice cap covering much of the island.
