Coronavirus
Other passengers have been told that the couple with the virus is in isolation while the Ocean Explorer remains stuck in Alpefjord National Park
Wed 13 September 2023 2.31pm BST
Two people aboard a cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland’s Alpefjord National Park have fallen ill with Covid-19, according to an Australian passenger on board, but everyone remained in “good spirits”.
The Australian-operated Ocean Explorer, carrying 206 passengers and crew, ran aground on Monday while touring the national park about 1,400 km northeast of Greenland’s capital Nuuk.
The 104m-long vessel, which left Norway on September 1 and is operating until September 22, became stuck after Tuesday’s high tide failed to free it.
However, authorities in Denmark said a scientific fishing vessel would arrive later on Wednesday and attempt to pull the Ocean Explorer free at high tide.
“A cruise ship in trouble in the national park is obviously a cause for concern. “The nearest help is far away, our units are far away and the weather can be very unfavorable,” Commander Brian Jensen of the Danish Navy’s Joint Arctic Command said in a statement on Tuesday.
“However, in this specific situation we see no immediate threat to human life or the environment, which is reassuring,” he added.
Australia-based Aurora Expeditions, which operates the ship, said all passengers and crew were safe. Many of the passengers are believed to be Australian, along with a mix of tourists from other countries including New Zealand, Britain, the United States and South Korea.
“We are actively committed to freeing the MV Ocean Explorer from its grounding. Our primary goal is to ensure the recovery of the ship without compromising safety,” Aurora said.
Gina Hill, an Australian on board with her husband, said they felt a tremor, then what sounded like a scraping sound as the ship ran aground.
She said the passengers were in good spirits and were entertained by the crew with lectures and expedition stories.
“No one seems to be afraid, and they keep us informed pretty regularly,” Hill said.
Hill said the crew told passengers that two other passengers had Covid and that they had been isolated. Some passengers have chosen to wear masks in public areas, but others have not, she said.
Alpefjord lies opposite the ice sheet that covers the world’s largest island, in a remote corner of Greenland, about 240 km from the nearest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which in turn is almost 1,400 km from the country’s capital, Nuuk.
Captain Flemming Madsen of the Danish Joint Arctic Command told the Associated Press that the passengers and crew were fine and “all I can say is that they had an experience of a lifetime.”
Additional reporting by Associated Press and Portal.
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