Police in Tromsø say they’ll need another few weeks to conclude their criminal investigation into how management of the shipping and cruise line Hurtigruten handled a Corona virus outbreak on board a cruise to Svalbard in July. Crew members have later claimed the company put their lives in danger, and fully 71 of the ship’s passengers and crew tested positive to Covid-19.
The police reported this week that they’ve called in around 20 people for questioning in connection with the Corona outbreak on board Hurtigruten’s MS Roald Amundsen. The company was later accused of trying to cover up what’s been called an ‘unforgiveable scandal,’ and its handling of the outbreak has been the subject of multiple probes.
One of them, commissioned by the company itself, revealed a wide variety of violations of the company’s own safety policies, but it seemed to clear disgraced CEO Daniel Skjeldam of direct responsibility. The Corona crisis on the Amundsen, meanwhile, wasn’t the first case of the Corona virus on board a Hurtigruten ship. There were also outbreaks on board the brand new MS Fridtjof Nansen as early as February and March that went unreported at the time, and one passenger later died.
The company remains under suspicion in the police investigation. Prosecutor Lisa-Mari Ellingsen stated that police needed “several more weeks” to complete their investigation.
newsinenglish.no staff
