The coastal voyage Hurtigruten ship Nord Norge was still tied up at Skjervøy in Northern Norway on Tuesday after it grounded just after its scheduled departure Monday night. The ship wouldn’t sail until inspectors could examine its hull.
The vessel was heading southbound on its way to Tromsø when it hit ran aground but it was quickly able to free itself and return to the pier. No one on board was injured.
Anne Marit Bjørnflaten of Hurtigruten told news bureau NTB that inspectors from vessel classification society Det Norske Veritas were due during the course of the day. “Then we’ll decide what to do further,” she said.
The vessel had 201 passengers on board when it apparently ran into a breakwater on the way out of Skjervøy’s harbour. Some reported that it “made a big noise” and passengers “jumped” when the vessel stopped abruptly.
The grounding reportedly left a gash on the side of the ship about a meter long. Some passengers left the vessel in Skjervøy while others may continue their voyage on board the next Hurtigruten vessel sailing down the coast, the Trollfjord. The weather in the area was poor, with full storm warnings up along the coast from western Finnmark south to Lofoten. The grounding follows that of another cruiseship off Lofoten earlier this week, the Marco Polo, which hit a sandbar but eventually freed itself.
newsinenglish.no staff
