Cruise Ship Detained on Svalbard - Cancels Greenland Voyage

The cruise ship Ocean Atlantic was detained on Svalbard by Norwegian maritime authorities due to 20 serious safety violations on the ship. This is reported by Svalbardposten.

During an inspection, The Norwegian Maritime Authority found, among other things, faults on the cruise ship's equipment and systems for fire protections, as well as its main engine and auxiliary engines. A hole in the hull had also previously caused the ship to take in water, without this being reported to the maritime authorities. This is reported by NRK.

Ocean Atlantic belongs to the Danish travel agency Albatros Travel. It has a crew of 140 people and can take up to 198 passengers.

Greenland's national broadcaster, KNR, reports that the cruise ship's voyage to Greenland and stay in its waters in August and September has been cancelled. Around 1000 guests were to sail with the ship during this period, which has been assessed as too dangerous to sail with.