Cruise ship with 206 people runs aground in Greenland, no injuries, no damage

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Bahamas-flagged Norwegian cruise ship with 206 passengers and team has run aground in northwestern Greenland, government stated Tuesday, including that no one on board was once in risk and no damage has been reported.

“Our units are far away, and the weather can be very unfavorable,” stated Cmdr. Brian Jensen of the Joint Arctic Command.

The closest Danish military ship was once about 1.200 nautical miles (greater than 2,000 kilometers or 1,380 miles) away, he stated, including it was once heading to the web page and might be anticipated on the grounded ship once Friday. Jensen stated in a observation there’s no speedy risk to human lifestyles or the surroundings, however that officers “take this incident very seriously.”

The 104.4-meter (343-foot) long and 18-meter (60 foot) wide ship ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in the Northeast Greenland National Park. It’s the world’s largest and most northerly national park and is known for icebergs and the musk oxen that roam the coast.

The ship belongs to Ulstein Group in Ulsteinvik, southern Norway.

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. The other cruise ship was not identified.

The grounded cruise ship might also get free on its own when the tide is high, Greenland television KNR reported. “Regardless, an important factor for us is that everybody will get to protection,” Jensen stated.

The number one challenge of the Joint Arctic Command is to make sure Danish sovereignty by way of tracking the world across the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, two semi-independent territories which might be a part of the Danish realm.