Attempts to free grounded Ocean Explorer remain unsuccessful

The expedition ship Ocean Explorer today remained grounded in a Greenland fjord 660 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. [Photo: Sirius / Forsvaret]

In a reminder that those who sign up for “adventure cruises” don’t always get the sort of adventures they expect, the 104-meter long, ice class PC6, expedition cruise ship Ocean Explorer today remained grounded in a Greenland fjord 660 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. There are 206 people on board. All are reported safe.

The vessel grounded Monday afternoon on what Danish Defense describes as sand and mud. Since then the vessel has made several unsuccessful attempts to free itself. The most recent attempt to free the Ocean Explorer was made today when the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources’ fisheries research vessel Tarajoq attempted to pull the expedition ship free. Unfortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful.

The Danish inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen has also been despatched to assist, but was 1,200 nautical miles away at the time of the grounding and likely will not arrive until Friday. In the meantime, Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command has ensured that all 206 persons on board are safe, with the help of the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish Navy special forces units with its roots in the World War II resistance.

Arctic Command has also dispatched other forms of assistance to the cruise ship. Yesterday Tuesday “Luftgruppe Vest” flew over the cruise ship with a Challenger surveillance plane. Pictures of the ship were taken from the plane. The pictures can help assess the situation on site.

There are also other ships in the vicinity of the cruise ship that Joint Arctic Command may ask to assist. Joint Arctic Command has been in contact with another cruise ship which is in the vicinity of the Ocean Explorer. This ship has been asked to remain in the area to assist should the situation develop.

The Ocean Explorer is one of the series of Ulstein-designed Infinity Class vessels built for SunStone Ships by China Merchants Industry Holdings Co., Ltd. It is currently on charter to Australian-based Aurora Expeditions after its previous operator, Vantage Travel Service, Inc., filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on June 29, this year. At a subsequent auction, Vantage Travel’s assets were acquired by Pacific Travel Partners, Inc., a subsidiary of Aurora Expeditions.

• UPDATE: In a second attempt Thursday, the Tarajoq succeeded in freeing the Ocean Explorer. More on that HERE.