Ms Maud power outage due rogue wave in north sea 22 december.

[jakkojakko]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norwegian-cruise-ship-remains-north-sea-following-storm-power-outage-2023-12-22/

 

A rogue wave shattered the bridge windows and incomming water disabled the navigation system and caused a power outage.

[jakkojakko]

https://nypost.com/2023/12/21/news/norwegian-cruise-ship-carrying-261-passengers-loses-maneuverability/

[Heartfelttraveler]

I got this from the site that may not be named.

For those asking about MS Maud… On our way to Bremerhaven currently under our own steam but we’ve been told it’ll be a tow as of tomorrow morning.

We had Danish coastguard and rescue boat support for much of last night and were hooked up to a tug this morning but the tow rope snapped after about 45 mins. Didn’t seem to be a deal breaker as we’ve been under our own power since, but the ESVAGT ship has been with us since late last night.

What we were told: Bridge windows were blown out by a rogue wave, all navigation instruments lost and steerage being performed manually in the engine room as of last night.

Spent a pretty anxious 4h in survival suits and life vests last night with high seas and minimal sleep, but the entire crew has been phenomenal throughout and I cannot praise them enough.

For those asking about the likelihood of their own trips on MS Maud going ahead, I offer some visual aids. Somehow the crew has managed to create a temporary bridge in what used to be the “expedition lounge”…

 

[oakridger]

@Heartfelttraveler  Thank you for letting us know what is happening on Maud.  I hope you and all aboard have safe travel to Germany then home.  What a traumatic experience for everyone!  You sound like you are in good spirits in spite of the problems.

 

Take care of yourself,

~Nancy

[Host Jazzbeau]

Here are updates from Cruise Industry News (with a statement from HX):

HX’s Maud Loses Power, Under Tow

 

and SeaTrade Cruise News:

HX’s Maud en route to Germany after encounter with rogue wave

[Heartfelttraveler]

6 hours ago, oakridger said:

@Heartfelttraveler  Thank you for letting us know what is happening on Maud.  I hope you and all aboard have safe travel to Germany then home.  What a traumatic experience for everyone!  You sound like you are in good spirits in spite of the problems.

 

Take care of yourself,

~Nancy

I am not on Maude.  (I am tucked safely in bed in the USA.)  I saw these photos from someone who is onboard and shared them here.

 

[GeezerCouple]

7 hours ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

I got this from the site that may not be named.

For those asking about MS Maud… On our way to Bremerhaven currently under our own steam but we’ve been told it’ll be a tow as of tomorrow morning.

We had Danish coastguard and rescue boat support for much of last night and were hooked up to a tug this morning but the tow rope snapped after about 45 mins. Didn’t seem to be a deal breaker as we’ve been under our own power since, but the ESVAGT ship has been with us since late last night.

What we were told: Bridge windows were blown out by a rogue wave, all navigation instruments lost and steerage being performed manually in the engine room as of last night.

Spent a pretty anxious 4h in survival suits and life vests last night with high seas and minimal sleep, but the entire crew has been phenomenal throughout and I cannot praise them enough.

For those asking about the likelihood of their own trips on MS Maud going ahead, I offer some visual aids. Somehow the crew has managed to create a temporary bridge in what used to be the “expedition lounge”…

 

 

Thanks for this update and the photos.

When are they expected to arrive in Germany?

 

Question:  DId the Viking Sky not have survival suits on board?  Did other Hurtigruten ships have survival suits on board?

 

We were on the Trollfjord (I think that's the sister ship to Midnatsol, now "Maud"?), and we had one bad night near where the Viking Sky had trouble about a year later.

(Glad of that time sequence!  We had to crawl to our bed; we were on a top deck and aft, so worst of the "wild ride".  We just stayed there all night, watching the bow cam and those *waves*.  We weren't worried; it was sort of fun. But it was nothing at all like this or the Viking Sky... there was no hint of loss of control, etc.  But we didn't quite realize what could happen, etc., to ships like this on routes like this....)

 

Or perhaps was it after the Viking Sky, er, "episode" that the ships do now carry survival suits?

 

And for the professionals:  Do these survival suits really work?  For how long?

"Asking for a friend...." 😱

🙄

 

Thanks.

 

GC

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

DId the Viking Sky not have survival suits on board?  Did other Hurtigruten ships have survival suits on board?

I’m not an expert in this field, but it is my understanding that international regulations do not require immersion suits for all passengers on cruise ships - there are, however, national regulations and regulations for ships that sail in Arctic waters - I mean MS Maud sails under Norwegian flag and also used for Arctic cruises.

This are the rules for Danish ships:

”For Danish flagged passenger ships trading in Greenland, Artic and comparable waters, immersion suits are required for each person on board. During the period from 1 May to 30 September, passenger ships may undertake individual voyages without carrying immersion suits for all persons on board, on the condition that the persons who are not provided with immersion suits are provided with thermal protective aids.”

[Seaworthy Seahusky]

I am supposed to sail on the Maud's upcoming January 6th Norway trip.  Right after this incident, I emailed their support for additional info, and they shared that Maud had to be assessed before making any determinations but as of that point the only cancelled itinerary was the December 23rd Christmas voyage.

 

I called them today again for more information as I'm going to leave later this week for Amsterdam.  The representative shared that as of now they expect Maud to be repaired in time for the January 6th voyage, so no cancellation as of yet.  The ship is either in or going to be in the Bredo dry docks as of tomorrow.

 

I hope this helps others.

[oakridger]

Thank you and welcome to Cruise Critic @Seaworthy Seahusky!  It will be wonderful if Maud is repaired quickly so everyone can enjoy their upcoming trips!  Best of luck to you and Maud!

 

Happy New Year,

~Nancy

[Seaworthy Seahusky]

Just another update for anyone else watching.  I was able to see via Bremerhaven webcams that Maud was towed to Bredo dry docks around 2:00 PM today (local time).  AIS has been off since the 23rd and the last known AIS position shows it at the cruise terminal still (which we now know is incorrect).

[JDincalif]

On 12/22/2023 at 8:17 PM, GeezerCouple said:

Question:  DId the Viking Sky not have survival suits in board?

🙄

Speaking for the Viking Sky passengers, we were given only life vests, which those who remained aboard the Sky through the crisis wore nonstop for about 20 hours. We saw no survival suits among the passengers or the valiant Sky crew.

 

At the same time, nine crew members of the nearby Haglund Captain cargo ship had to abandon ship, plunging directly into the water in survival suits, where all were successfully rescued by helicopters that had originally responded to the Sky. *That* must have been absolutely terrifying for those crew members 

 

Hypothermia, the threats of being dashed against the rocks or drowning in the high seas made the idea of survival suits cold comfort indeed 😉

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by JDincalif
Spelling, per usual

[Seaworthy Seahusky]

The January 6th Maud sailing has been officially cancelled.  Very sad -- sorry for all others impacted as well.

[sleepingcat]

I had a message yesterday from London friends who should have been on the  MS Maud Christmas cruise and instead had a rapidly rearranged Christmas at home . I know they have already had an email with offers of future cruises they can transfer to. Best wishes to all concerned. 

[Crosspost]

We were actually on the Maud on 21 December 2023 when the wave hit. The captain had just changed course to turn us into waves and had suggested everyone stayed sitting down or laid on their bed. The first sign that something was not right, as we did not feel the wave break, was a long continuous fog horn - we realised it was us and when I was just googling 'what does a long continuous fog horn mean' the seven short blasts and one long one went off. Your mouth goes completely dry and you think 'this must be a mistake' but when you get to your life boat station and they are handing out survival suits and life jackets you realise it is not a mistake.

 

All I can say is pay very careful attention to the safety drill, how to put on the survival suit and where you need to go and be confident that the Captain, officers and crew are simply outstanding. Once the Captain had got control of the ship after about 5 hours (at one stage the rocking was so bad that all of the furniture went from one side of the room to the other, with us under it unless you found something secure to hold on to) - the Captain came to every life boat station to explain in person what would happen. This told us he was in charge and that he cared. We were allowed back to our cabin on the basis we took our survival suits and life jackets with us.

 

The survival suits do what it says on the tin and were very hot - especially as I had two coats on! After 5 hours the crew came round with cookies and fruit, then sandwiches, breakfast was brought to our room the next morning and by lunchtime the crew had managed to prepare a buffet - despite the whole ship being trashed.

 

Hurtigruten arranged flights for us back to the UK and almost all of us got back for Christmas - and within a week they offered a free cruise to the value of the last one, which they did not have to do as it was simply an act of God! We have already booked ours - but to West Africa where it will hopefully be warmer!

 

There were some inexperienced travellers on the ship who have never sailed before who were asking 'why were we there' but the answer is, it was December and the North Sea, we knew there was a storm coming and some passengers even got off at our last stop to avoid crossing the North Sea. The Maud is an expedition ship which sails in Antarctica and so it is built for these conditions. We were just unlucky a 30m wave hit us, but very lucky to have such amazing leadership and crew to ensure we were safe.

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

Any update on the status of Maud, or expected return to service?

 

Thanks.

 

GC

[grayjay]

As far as I know it is still in dry dock in Bremerhaven, Germany, as there was extensive damage . I think Maud will be back in the spring, at the moment a smaller ship, the Spitsbergen is doing her job.

[grayjay]

I just found out that Maud is supposed to be back in service around the middle of April.