The Viking Grace of Finnish ferry company Viking Line ran aground on Saturday 21 November near the Aland Islands, a Finnish archipelago in the Baltic Sea. A day later, the ferry with more than 400 people on board was towed to the quay. It is the second time a Viking Line ferry grounds in this area.
The 331 passengers and 98 crew had to spend the night on the Viking Grace, which ran aground just a few hundred metres from the ferry terminal in Mariehamn, the main town in the archipelago. Tugboats pulled the ship from the shallow water and towed it to the terminal.
Gust of wind
The ferry was on its way from Stockholm via Mariehamn to Turku in Finland. There was a strong wind on Saturday and a lot of rain. Several other ferry services had not sailed out. Viking Line-topman Jan Hanses told the Finnish broadcaster YLE earlier that it seemed as if a strong gust of wind had blown the ship to the coastline where it got stuck.
The 218 metre long Viking Grace was built in 2012 and can carry 2800 passengers. The ship will sail to a shipyard for inspection in the next few days. No leaks were reported on the ship and the initial inspections by divers did not reveal any damage.
In September, another Viking Line vessel, the Amorella, also ran aground near the Aland Islands.
Source: ANP
