Finnlines vessel runs aground in Sweden
Shipping company reports that no passengers are injured or in danger after the Finneagle passenger-cargo ship runs onto rocks in the Kapellskär harbor, north of Stockholm.
Divers are examining the vessel before plans are made for its removal and possible continuation of its journey.
The shipping company Finnlines passenger-cargo vessel MS Finneagle has run aground in Kapellskär harbour, 90 kilometres north of Stockholm. 168 passengers and 30 crew were on board. According to Finnlines no-one was hurt and no-one is in danger due to the incident.
”It was what you might call a safe grounding,” Tapani Voionmaa from Finnlines said.
The ship ran aground early on Thursday morning as it arrived in Kapellskär from Naantali in Finland. It was due to arrive at 6am Swedish time, after having set off at 10.30 the previous evening.
The grounding was caused by a technical failure of the main engines, causing the vessel to become lodged on rocks in the harbour.
Voionmaa says the harbour is particularly shallow, and is also small.
A diver is now examining the hull of the vessel, after which a decision will be reached about how to remove the ship from the rocks.
There is currently no estimate for how long this will take, Voionmaa says.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Shipping challenges in Canada’s North-West, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: New Finland icebreaker can operate sideways with asymmetrical hull, Yle News
Norway: Norwegian company looks to Alaska for Arctic shipping port, Alaska Dispatch
Russia: Russia, icebreakers and Arctic identity, Blog by Mia Bennett
United States: U.S. report not anticipating near-term Arctic increase in commercial shipping, Alaska Public Radio Network
