Key Points
- A cruise ship that ran aground in Greenland has been freed.
- The Ocean Explorer had 206 people onboard - including 90 Australians.
- There were multiple unsuccessful attempts to free the cruise liner.
A luxury cruise ship that ran aground in a remote Greenland location with 206 people on board has been pulled free by a trawler, a spokesperson for Denmark's armed forces says.
The Ocean Explorer cruise vessel had since Monday been stuck in mud and silt in the Alpefjord national park, some 1400km northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk.
Denmark's armed forces and the cruise ship's operator have said there were no injuries among the passengers or crew.
The announcement follows three failed attempt to free the cruise liner - carrying 90 Australians - after a fisheries research vessel on Wednesday.
The ship's operator said on Thursday at least three passengers onboard had contracted COVID-19.
"These passengers are currently in isolation," the Australia-based Aurora Expeditions said in a statement on Thursday.
"They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team and crew, and they are doing well."
The others on the Ocean Explorer were "safe and healthy", it said.
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted a retiree from Australia, Steven Fraser, who is on the ship, saying "everyone's in good spirits".
"It's a little bit frustrating, but we are in a beautiful part of the world," he told the newspaper, adding he had come down with COVID-19 on the ship.
What happened to the Ocean Explorer?
The cruise ship ran aground above the Arctic Circle on Monday in Alpefjord, in the Northeast Greenland National Park - the world's northernmost national park.
The park is almost the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80 per cent is permanently covered by an ice sheet.
Alpefjord sits about 240km away from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which itself is almost 1.4km from the country's capital, Nuuk.
Earlier this week, the cruise ship made two failed attempts to float free on its own during high tide.
There were multiple unsuccessful rescue efforts. Source: AP / .
It has an inverted bow, shaped like the one on a submarine, 77 cabins, 151 passenger beds and 99 beds for crew, and several restaurants.
Greenland police investigating
Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq said police in Greenland were investigating why the ship had run aground and whether any laws had been violated. So far, no one has been charged or arrested.
The newspaper cited a police statement saying an officer had been on board the cruise ship to carry out "initial investigative steps, which, among other things, involve questioning the crew and other relevant persons on board".
