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Passengers on a Baltic Sea ferry had their way in horror. His ship ran aground off the Finnish Åland archipelago. The ferry has already been released and continues its journey.
The Baltic ferry “Viking Grace”, which ran aground off the Finnish coast, continued its journey. The Finnish coast guard announced on Twitter that a tug released the ship overnight. He had arrived in the town of Mariehamn in the Åland Islands around 2.40 am CET.
According to a spokeswoman for the Viking Line shipping company, some of the passengers disembarked there. Then the ferry departed for Turku in Finland with about 260 passengers remaining. There the ship should be repaired “in the next few days,” the spokeswoman said.
Night on board
Before the 218-meter-long “Viking Grace” could be freed from the tugs and brought to a ferry terminal, the 331 passengers and 98 crew members had to spend the night on board.
The ferry ran aground at Mariehamn, near the port. She had rammed several rocks. Water did not enter the accident and no one was injured.
The gust of wind apparently diverted the ferry from its course
The “Viking Grace” was traveling from the Swedish capital Stockholm to Turku in southern Finland when the accident occurred.
It appears that a strong gust of wind has carried the ferry towards the coast, where it ran aground, Jan Hanses of the shipping company told Yle radio station. So far there is no more precise information on the cause of the accident.
Due to a storm warning, the company used the “Viking Grace” instead of a smaller and less robust boat. The coast guard had previously reported a strong wind on Twitter.
No leaks were found at first
Divers examined the bottom of the boat and initially found no damage or leaks. The “Viking Grace” was built in 2012 and can carry up to 2,800 passengers. The ship is said to have been taken to the Turku Repair Shipyard for inspection.
In September, another Viking Line ferry, the “Amorella”, also ran aground in the Finnish autonomous archipelago of Aland. At that time, the 280 passengers had to be brought to safety.
