"Cruise Carrying 206 Passengers, Including Some from Korea, Runs Aground in Greenland"

Glacier Tour Cruise Ship Stuck in Seabed Mud
Danish Navy: "206 Passengers Are Doing Well"

Foreign media reported that among the passengers on a cruise ship stranded and awaiting rescue off the coast of Greenland in the Arctic, there are passengers from Korea.

According to the AP News on the 14th (local time), Yonhap News reported that among the 206 passengers on the cruise ship 'Ocean Explorer,' which was stranded in the sea near the Northeast Greenland National Park on the 11th, there are passengers from Korea.

'Ocean Explorer' stranded off the coast of Greenland
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

AP quoted Colonel Fleming Madsen of the Danish Joint Arctic Command, saying that the cruise passengers include tourists from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Korea.

The exact number of passengers by nationality has not been disclosed, but it is reported that a significant number of passengers are Australian nationals.

Colonel Madsen said, "All 206 people on board the Ocean Explorer are doing well."

The Joint Arctic Command also stated, "(The passengers) are in a difficult situation, but the atmosphere inside the ship is good, and everyone on board is doing well," adding, "There are no signs that the ship has been seriously damaged due to the grounding."

The Ocean Explorer ran aground around noon on the 11th near Alpefjord, a fjord (a long, narrow bay formed by glacial erosion) in the Northeast Greenland National Park.

The cruise ship is stuck on mud and sand deposits on the seabed, trapped in shallow water and unable to return to the sea. Immediately after grounding, the captain attempted to float and move the ship by himself during high tide when seawater rises, but this attempt failed.

Subsequently, the Danish Navy attempted to tow the ship with other vessels such as a fisheries research ship during high tide, but all three attempts until that day reportedly failed.

'Ocean Explorer' stranded off the coast of Greenland
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

On the 15th, when a larger ship than previous attempts arrives at the grounding site, the Joint Arctic Command is expected to attempt towing again. Alpefjord, where the cruise ship ran aground, is a remote area located 1,400 km east of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.

The Ocean Explorer is a cruise operated by the Sydney-based travel agency Aurora Expeditions. It is 104.4 meters long and 18 meters high, with 77 cabins, 151 passenger beds, 99 crew beds, and several restaurants.

The company operates cruises specialized in Arctic travel, and the price for a 30-day travel package is known to exceed $33,000 per person (about 43 million KRW).

In Greenland, dozens of cruise ships operate annually to view the spectacular scenery combining fjords and mountain ranges. Especially, cruises for glacier tourism have increased by 50% over the past year, currently reaching 600 ships.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.