The attempts so far to pull free the Bahamas-lagged luxury cruise ship, that ran aground with 206 passengers in Greenland, has proved futile due to unfavourable tide.
Earlier this week, the cruise ship made two failed attempts to float free on its own during high tide. However, the third attempt to free the MV Ocean Explorer on Thursday also ended up in failure.
It’s been four days since the cruise ship ran aground in Alpefjird in the Northeast Greenland National Park.
Reportedly, it might take several more days for the cruise to start moving.
Meanwhile, Aurora Expeditions, the ship's operator, confirmed that three passengers onboard have Covid-19. The infected passengers are currently in isolation and their conditions are healthy, said Aurora Expeditions in a statement.
Reportedly, there is a doctor on board and he is one among those affected with Covid-19.
According to the statement from Denmark's Joint Arctic Command (JAC), the cruise ship got stuck in the stretch of Northeast Greenland National Park and has not been able to free itself.
"This means that the tide-which came during the day, local time- did not give the desired help to sail on," a JAC statement read.
While, all passengers onboard are "safe and well", Aurora Expeditions said on Wednesday.
"Importantly, there is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel or the surrounding environment," read the statement.
After the incident, though the closest inspection vessel was called for assistance, it is set to reach the cruise ship only on Friday evening. The dispatched vessel, Knud Rasmussen, for assistance is facing a journey of 1,200 nautical miles to reach the ship.
"As soon as we realised that the Ocean Explorer could not get free on its own, we sent a ship towards the wreck," said Arctic Commander Brian Jensen.
"We are actively engaged in efforts to free the MV Ocean Explorer, from its grounding. Our foremost commitment is to ensure the vessel's recovery without compromising safety," said Aurora Expeditions.
The incident has been informed to the Government of Greenland, the Danish Maritime Authority and the Danish Accident Investigation Board.
Alpefjord is away from the closest settlement Ittoqqortoormiit, which is 1,400 kms away from Nuuk.
The Greenland Nature Institute's fisheries research vessel Tarajoq attempted to pull the Ocean Explorer free at high tide on Wednesday morning.
The cruise ship is operated by Australia-based Aurora Expeditions and has passengers from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. It has 77 cabins, 151 passenger beds and 99 beds for crew, and several restaurants.