Greenland Cruise Ship Pulled Free After Three Days Stuck In Mud

A luxury cruise ship, Ocean Explorer that has been stuck in the mud in Greenland since Monday has finally been pulled free.

The Ship and its 206 passengers and crew were rescued on Thursday by a Greenland research trawler after it was grounded within the Northeast Greenland National Park.

The Ocean Explorer became stuck in mud and silt above the Arctic Circle in Alpefjord, 1,400 km northeast of Greenland’s capital Nuuk. A number of attempts were made to free the ship during high tide but they failed.

The Danish military’s Joint Arctic Command said an inspection vessel had been due to arrive at the scene on Friday.

The ship was eventually dislodged based on a pull from a Greenland government-owned trawler called Tarajoq, which means “salt” in Greenlandic, as well as Ocean Explorer’s own power.

There had been no pollution to the environment and no breach of the hull, it added.

The 112 passengers and 94 crew on the Australian tour operator’s cruise had set off from Norway on 2 September and were due to return on 22 September.

Many of the passengers were from Australia, as well as New Zealand, the UK, South Korea and the US. Steven Fraser and Gina Hill, a retired couple on board the Ocean Explorer, said passengers’ spirits were high despite being stranded.

Aurora Expeditions said earlier this week that three people had contracted the virus but were being kept in isolation. The Northeast Greenland National Park is nearly the same size as France and Spain combined and is famed for its fjords, icebergs and mountains.

It is also home to wildlife such as polar bears, muskoxen and the elusive narwhal.