A cruise ship carrying 206 passengers and crew members has run aground in north-west Greenland and remains stuck even after the high tide. According to Cmdr Brian Jensen of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, everyone on board is safe, and no damage has been reported. However, authorities are treating the incident with utmost seriousness.
Jensen explained that their units are quite a distance away, and the weather conditions in the area can be quite harsh. The nearest Danish navy ship is approximately 1,200 nautical miles (about 1,380 miles or 2,200 km) away, but it is en route to the site and expected to reach the grounded ship by Friday.
The ship in question is the Ocean Explorer, measuring 104 meters (343 feet) in length and 18 meters in width. It ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord, located in the Northeast Greenland National Park. This park, the largest and northernmost national park in the world, is renowned for its icebergs and the presence of musk oxen along its coast. The ship is registered in the Bahamas but belongs to the Ulstein Group in Ulsteinvik, southern Norway.
Authorities have also been in contact with another cruise ship in the vicinity, which has been asked to stay nearby in case assistance is needed as the situation unfolds. However, this second cruise ship has not been identified.
There is hope that the grounded cruise ship may become free on its own when the tide rises, as reported by Greenland television KNR. Cmdr Jensen emphasized that their top priority is the safety of everyone involved.
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Later on Tuesday, the Joint Arctic Command updated its status on Facebook, confirming that the ship was still stuck despite the high tide. Importantly, there have been no reports of immediate danger to human life or the environment.
The primary mission of the Joint Arctic Command is to safeguard Danish sovereignty by monitoring the areas around the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are both semi-independent territories within the Danish realm.
