Recent video of a cruise ship stalled at sea off Norway showed a chaotic scene last weekend, with almost 1,400 passengers and crew members left stranded. Officials have now discovered the reason for the ship’s trouble.
The engine of the Viking Sky, a cruise ship operated by Viking Ocean Cruises, shut down on March 23, causing an emergency situation in rough weather.
“The heavy seas probably caused movements in the tanks so large that the supply to the lubricating oil pumps stopped,” said Lars Alvestad, acting head of the Norwegian Maritime Authority, via the New York Post. “This triggered an alarm indicating a low level of lubrication oil, which in turn, shortly thereafter, caused an automatic shutdown of the engines.”
The ship sent out a mayday call after the engine shut down. The vessel then proceeded to rock and bounce around in turbulent waters as those aboard waited desperately for rescue.
Norwegian media reported that waves of up to 26 feet and wind gusts as high as 43 miles per hour pummeled the ship, according to The Guardian.
Alvestad said that the low oil levels were “within set limits,” Fox News reported.
The passengers on the cruise ship were mostly from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
Dr. Charles Ivory and his wife, a New Jersey couple, were among the 1,373 passengers and crew members.
“The water breached the dining room area where we were located, knocking people to their feet, blowing furniture all around,” Ivory told ABC.
Ivory was lodged under a table, and unable to reach his wife. They were even trapped underwater for a moment.
“Just as the water breached the dining room, the ship lifted in the opposite direction,” he added. “And the water drained just as quickly as it entered.”
Ivory and his wife were saved by the Norwegian Coast Guard. Ivory is now in a wheelchair recovering from a minor leg injury he suffered during the ordeal.
The area where the ship experienced trouble, known as Hustadvika, is notorious for its rough sea conditions, according to The Guardian.
Video circulating on the internet shows a dramatic scene aboard the cruise ship, with debris falling from the ceiling of an indoor area, while the ship rocks and sways in the water. Chairs, tables, and anything not nailed to the flooring crashes into each other as people try to dodge danger with no stable footing.
“It was frightening at first. And when the general alarm sounded it became very real,” passenger Alexus Sheppard told the Associated Press.
Over 463 passengers were airlifted from the cruise ship. People with disabilities or injuries were taken off first.
The ship managed to drop anchor, so first responders could follow through with the rescue mission, Fox News reported. Five helicopters airlifted people from the ship, as a water rescue was not possible given the conditions.
“We saw two people taken off by stretcher,” passenger Dereck Brown told Norwegian newspaper Romsdal Budstikke, via the Associated Press. “People were alarmed. Many were frightened but they were calm.”
The ship was then towed to port by two tugboats so the rest of the people could disembark. Almost 900 passengers and crew were still aboard.
At least 17 people sustained injuries.
#vikingsky safely at port in Molde pic.twitter.com/zbEW0pQHcU
— Sigurd Mjelve (@Sigmje) March 24, 2019
