Cruise Radio and other media outlets are reporting serious problems with the Viking Sky off the coast of Norway.
According to Maritime Bulletin, the Viking Sky found itself dealing with engine failure off the cost of Norway during what was described as “heavy storm conditions.” The ship was forced to drop anchor and issue a distress signal so that approximately 1,500 people could be evacuated by boat and rescue helicopters. But various social media reports indicated that the process was long and slow, hampered by both severe weather conditions and the fact that helicopters could only take a limited number of people back to shore per trip. Several rescue ships which attempted to reach the ship were unable to do so because of the stormy conditions. According to BBC News, as winds were blowing at around 38 knots, the ship was only about 2.5 nautical miles from shore.
Hours into the evacuation, @mereidrundelli posted on her Twitter feed, “Oh board the #VikingSky and waiting to be evacuated. Hugh kudos to the crew who are doing an amazing job of keeping people calm and taking care of issues.”
Click on this link for the full story from Cruise Radio: https://cruiseradio.net/two-cruise-ships-suffer-engine-failure-viking-sky-evacuated/
The YouTube video gives us a first hand look!
