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Luxury cruise ship with 206 people onboard runs aground in Greenland
A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people has run aground in remote eastern Greenland with the nearest help by sea days away, the Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said on Tuesday.
The Ocean Explorer ran aground on Monday in Alpefjord in a national park some 1,400 km (870 miles) northeast of Greenland’s capital Nuuk, the JAC said in a statement.
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There were no reports of injuries, JAC said.
“A cruise ship in trouble in the national park is obviously a worry. The nearest help is far away, our units are far away, and the weather can be very unfavorable,” JAC head of operations, Commander Brian Jensen, said in the statement.
“However, in this specific situation, we do not see any immediate danger to human life or the environment, which is reassuring,” he added.
A spokesperson for Australian cruise operator Aurora Expeditions said in an emailed statement everyone on board was safe and well.
The JAC said its nearest unit was an inspection vessel some 1,200 nautical miles away at the time of the incident, meaning it could reach the grounded ship by Friday morning local time at the earliest.
The Arctic command said it had asked a cruise ship located nearer to the Ocean Explorer to stay in the area so that it would be able to assist in case the situation changes.
Completed in 2021, the Ocean Explorer can accommodate up to 134 passengers and offers trips to “some of the most wild and remote destinations on the planet,” Aurora Expeditions said on its website.
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