Grounded cruise ship carrying thousands refloated
- Published
The Norwegian Escape ran aground off the coast of the Dominican Republic
A large cruise ship with thousands of passengers on board has been refloated after running aground off the Dominican Republic.
A Dominican admiral said strong winds had caused the 326m (1,070ft) -long Norwegian Escape to ground as it left Puerto Plata.
It took more than seven hours for the Norwegian Cruise Line ship to be freed.
The Norwegian Escape returned to port for checks. No passengers or crew were harmed in the incident.
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said the Norwegian Escape "made contact with the channel bed as it was departing Puerto Plata".
Passengers described hearing "a loud thud" when it ran aground and some said the ship was listing.
Tugboats tried to free the boat but failed, so the decision was made to wait for high tide.
Some of the passengers posted updates of the situation on social media.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read and before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The ship is one of the biggest in Norwegian Cruise Line's fleet. Local media said The Norwegian Escape was on its way to the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Related topics
- Published8 March 2022
- Published24 January 2022
