Cruise ship that stranded in Greenland three days ago has been released

The luxury cruise ship “MV Ocean Explorer” managed to leave the place where it beached three days ago in Greenland on Thursday with 206 people on board, authorities and the ship’s owner announced.

The ship was freed during high tide by a fishing research boat, said the owner of the Copenhagen-based company SunStone Ships and the Danish Joint Arctic Command, which coordinated the operation.

The maneuver was carried out ‘based on the traction of the research vessel, which is owned by the Greenland government, and the energy of the vessel itself. [cruzeiro]. There are no injuries on board, no environmental pollution and no hull rupture,” the coordination unit said.

The ship that managed to refloat the cruise ship is called “Tarajoq” and belongs to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, a local government agency.

It was initially announced that the stranded ship could free itself when the tide was high, but several attempts were made without success.

Although authorities assured there was no damage or injuries, three people on board were tested and diagnosed with Covid-19 and isolated.

The owner said on Thursday that “the ship and its passengers will now be taken to a port, where any damage to the bottom of the ship can be assessed, [sendo depois] passengers transported back home.”

The cruise ship ran aground Monday in Alpefjord, an area of ​​the Arctic Circle that is home to Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost national park in the world.

The park is almost the size of France and Spain combined and about 80% is permanently covered with a layer of ice.

Alpefjord is located approximately 240 kilometers from the nearest town, Ittoqqortoormiit, and almost 1,400 kilometers from the capital of the autonomous Danish territory, Nuuk.

The Danish Maritime Authority has already asked Greenland police to investigate why the ship ran aground and whether any laws were broken. An officer is already on board to “conduct the initial stages of the investigation, which will include questioning the crew.” and other relevant people on board,” local police said.