An attempt on September 13th by fishing support vessel Tarajoq (IMO 9881225) to free the grounded cruise ship Ocean Explorer (IMO 9883194)has not succeeded.
The Tarajoq, of the Greenland Institute for Natural Resources, arrived at the grounding site in the Alpe Fjord in the morning and attempted a rescue. The area in which the stranded vessel is stuck has been little explored to date, which means that the depths of the waters are difficult to estimate.
Many of the passengers are believed to be Australians (the tour operator Aurora Expeditions is based in Australia), but also on board were tourists from New Zealand, the UK, the US and South Korea.
To add to the inconvenience for passengers, three people on board have come down with Covid-19. Aurora Expeditions announced on September 14th that they would be looked after by a doctor and a medical team on board. The infected passengers were put in isolation.
It was announced that, if an emergency evacuation were required, personnel from the Danish naval unit Sirius Dog Sled Patrol could be at the accident site within 1.5 hours.
The Joint Arctic Command was coordinating the operation to free the cruise ship. The first priority for the Arctic Command was to get the inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen (IMO 4537025) to the grounding site (it left Nanortalik, Greenland, on September 11th) but due to the weather in the area where the inspection ship is, it was not expected to arrive before the evening of September 15th.
2021-built, Bahamas-flagged, 8,228 gt Ocean Explorer is owned and managed by Ocean Explorer Owner Ltd. ISM manager is Anglo-Eastern Cruise Ltd of Miami, Florida. It is entered with Steamship Mutual on behalf of Ocean Explorer Owner Ltd.
2021-built, Denmark-flagged, 2,896 gt Tarajoq is owned and managed by Gronlands Naturinstitut of Nuusuuaq, Greenland. It is entered with Gard on behalf of Mar de Basauri Greenland, filial af Mar.
2008-built, Denmark-flagged, 2,596 gt Knud Rasmussen is owned and managed by Denmark Govt Sovaernets of Braband, K Denmark.