- Rough waves crashed into a cruise ship Thursday, causing a power outage. Reuters reported.
- The waves hit the Norwegian ship MS Mode, rendering it incapable of navigation.
- A passenger on board said that at one point, “all I could see was a wall of water, nothing in the sky.”
The Norwegian cruise ship MS Mode lost its ability to sail on Thursday after losing power due to rough seas.
The ship, operated by HX, a cruise company owned by Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, was about 190 miles off Denmark’s west coast when the wave hit. Reuters reported. The force of the waves broke some of the ship’s windows and caused it to list “pretty violently,” passenger Elizabeth Lawrence told Business Insider. She was one of 266 passengers and 131 crew members on board.
Lawrence, who chose the cruise to see the Northern Lights, said the day started with some pretty big waves, but the captain had told passengers to expect it. But as the day went on, the waves got bigger, big enough to splash the windows on the sixth-floor deck, she said.
“The situation started with the ship’s horn blaring for a very long time, then the PA system came on and all you could hear was scuffles and noises moving around,” Lawrence said. Passengers then heard the alarm and were directed to the next location. their meeting place — An area on the ship where guests can gather in case of an emergency.
“To get to the master station, the main restaurant, all you had to do was go down a nearby set of stairs, but the ship was listing pretty hard. When the ship pulled completely to one side, all you could see was a wall of water.” No sky, no nothing,” she told BI.
Mr Lawrence added that while at the assembly point, passengers were given “survival suits”, suits that were insulated and “significantly extended their survival time”. According to the Coast Guard.
There was no update for about 20 minutes, during which time flight attendants helped guests suit up, reassured nervous passengers and brought out water and snacks after the situation calmed down, she said. .
A tow boat arrived to help on Thursday night, Reuters reported. Hurtigruten told media in a statement that he did not suffer any serious injuries from the rogue wave.
“At this time, the ship has confirmed that there were no serious injuries to passengers or crew as a result of the incident, and the ship’s condition is stable,” the statement said.
Lawrence told BI that while he probably wouldn’t head to the North Sea again in winter, he did intend to cruise on the HX in the future.
“It was all very scary at the time, but I think everything was handled as well as possible considering the circumstances,” she said.
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