Albatros Travel Disko II
Cruise Ship Grounded Of Greenland Coast
June 27, 2007
The Disko II was built in 1992 to sail passengers along Greenland's west coast during the ice-free months and was converted into a cruise ship in 2004. The vessel has a double hull, having been built to sail in Arctic waters.
The cruise had started in Kangerlussuaq, a former U.S. Air Force base in southwestern Greenland. It hit rocks near the island of Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland.
There were 52 Danish passengers onboard, and a crew of 18. The passengers were evacuated, but the crew remained onboard after the vessel grounded.
The passengers would remain in Qeqertarsuaq, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, while authorities investigated whether the ship could continue its cruise north to Uummannaq, about 250 kilometers (310 miles) further north.
These passengers fared much better than those of the Hans Hedtoft which sunk off the southern tip of Greenland on her maiden voyage on January 30 1959, after hitting an iceberg. The Hedtoft was built to move through the thick ice of the Greenland area.
All 55 passengers and 40 crew were lost in that accident. It was said to be unsinkable, just as the builders of the Titanic had claimed.
