Cruise ship loses power in a rough North Sea

By Amy Cassidy and Marnie Hunter, CNN

(CNN) — A Norwegian cruise ship in the North Sea was disabled Thursday after it lost power.

Denmark’s maritime authorities told CNN on Friday that the ship, MS Maud, lost its ability to navigate after strong winds smashed glass windows, allowing water to get in and causing a temporary power outage.

Hurtigruten Expeditions (HX) had a somewhat different account of what caused the incident, telling CNN in a statement that its ship experienced the temporary power loss Thursday “after encountering a rogue wave.” The ship, which carries 266 guests and 131 crew, was headed toward Tilbury, United Kingdom, from Florø, Norway.

MS Maud was sailing about 120 miles (193 kilometers) off the west coast of Denmark on Thursday when the incident happened, a spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) said.

The JRCC was not asked to evacuate passengers and crew, leading the spokesperson to believe “all is well” with everyone still on board.

“The ship has confirmed that all crew and guests are safe and well, the condition of the ship remains stable and the crew are able to sail under their own power,” the HX spokesperson said late Friday.

The civilian vessel was stable with engines running; however, the navigation systems and radar remained down “due to water in the systems on the bridge,” the JRCC spokesperson said earlier on Friday.

“It can manoeuvre via emergency systems, and it has two civilian support vessels close by from the company Esvagt,” they added.

The ship’s route was changed after safety checks and technical assessments, HX said, and passengers will now disembark in Bremerhaven, Germany.

“Our team have arranged onward travel back home for guests onboard,” the HX spokesperson said.

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