Norwegian cruise ship towed to Germany after power outage in North Sea storm

[December 22, 2023]  By Louise Rasmussen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
 
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud is being towed to Bremerhafen in Germany after a violent North Sea storm shattered windows on the bridge, causing a power outage late on Thursday, Danish authorities said on Friday. 

A handout image of the Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud, in Westfjords, Iceland July 12, 2023. Magnus Thor Hafsteinsson/Handout via REUTERS

The ship's 266 passengers and 131 crew members were safe, a spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (DJRC) told Reuters, adding that a vessel from civil rescue firm Esvagt had managed to connect a tow line to the cruise ship.

"An Esvagt ship is towing it slowly towards Bremerhafen in Germany at around 8-9 knots," the spokesperson said.

The vessel was sailing some 260 kilometres (162 miles) off Denmark's west coast and about 350 kilometres off Britain's east coast when water entered the bridge, resulting in a power outage.

The vessel's main engine was still functioning, enabling the ship to be steered manually from the engine room.

MS Maud, which belongs to cruise company HX, a unit of Norway's Hurtigruten Group, left Floroe in Norway on Thursday and was due to arrive in Tilbury in Britain on Friday.

Hurtigruten confirmed in a statement on Friday that the vessel was heading to Bremerhafen for disembarkation.

The company said the Maud had suffered "a temporary loss of power after encountering a rogue wave" and that the crew and passengers were safe.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch RasmussenEditing by Miral Fahmy and Mark Potter)

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