Cruise ship that ran aground in northeast Greenland successfully refloated

A cruise ship that ran aground in northeast Greenland earlier this week has been successfully refloated after numerous attempts, Danish defence officials have confirmed.

Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command (JAC) reported that the US-owned expedition cruise ship Ocean Explorer was pulled free by Tarajoq, a fisheries research vessel operated by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, on the morning (local time) of Thursday, September 14.

Tarajoq was sent to the area to render assistance to Ocean Explorer after the latter vessel became stranded in Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland National Park on Monday, September 11.

The JAC said that there were no injuries among the cruise ship’s 206 passengers and crew and that there were no signs of damage that could pose a risk to the surrounding marine environment.

Tarajoq arrived in the area on Wednesday, September 13. However, an initial attempt by the research vessel to pull the cruise ship free during high tide that same day proved unsuccessful.

Ocean Explorer is now being brought to a port to allow accident investigators to conduct a closer examination of the vessel’s hull.

Danish police officials have meanwhile launched a preliminary investigation into the incident.