Following a brush with a rogue wave during a storm, a Norwegian cruise ship carrying over 250 people lost power on Thursday, December 21, according to the cruise company HX.
As the MS Maud sailed from Florø, Norway to Tilbury, England, HX reported in a statement to NBC News that there was a brief loss of power. HX reports that among the 266 passengers and 131 crew members, no significant injuries were reported.
A representative for HX stated, “The ship’s condition is stable and the crew can navigate on their own.”
In a statement to NBC News, the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Center stated that two civilian support ships are assisting in traversing the North Sea, while the ship’s crew is using emergency systems to manually steer the vessel.
HX stated that the business changed the ship’s intended course to sail to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation, subsequent to continuous safety inspections and technical evaluations.
A firm representative stated, “Our team is working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard.”
The MS Maud had windows broken by hurricane-force winds during the storm, and passengers spoke of a terrifying scene.
“We’ve been sitting on the floor in our muster stations for hours wearing our safety suits and life jackets and there’s no sign of us being allowed up any time soon,” passenger Dorothy Hallam said on social media. We were frequently tossed around.”
Another traveler, Ian Roberts, posted on Facebook about the unannounced change in vacation schedule.
“I apologize to everyone whose Christmas treat went bad. But the Maud crew has taken excellent care of us in what was originally a really difficult circumstance, Roberts added.
Dramatic films of enormous waves breaking in the region have been a subject of excitement on TikTok, proving that the MS Maud is not the only ship to experience strong seas in the North Sea.
Although the North Sea’s waters might be choppy, maritime experts indicated that the hundreds of thousands of ships that transit through it each year are usually safe.
