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It is currently unclear if the wave that hit the Viking Polaris qualifies as an official rogue wave because there is no accurate data on the wave height or the surrounding sea state. A storm was raging when the wave hit, CNN reported, which could have provided the necessary conditions for a rogue wave to form. The Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud temporarily lost power on Thursday after encountering the rogue wave.
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However, scientists have learned more about them in recent decades, studying how they emerge and how to predict the wall of water that can surge up even in calm seas. "No matter what side of the boat you're on, it was felt throughout the ship that clearly something bad had happened," she said. Tom and Pam Trusdale were enjoying a bucket list trip to Antarctica, until their trip of a lifetime turned into a deadly disaster. MS Maud was in the middle of the North Sea at the tail end of a 14-day cruise to see the Northern Lights when it was caught in a fierce storm on Thursday.
Passengers on Antarctic cruise ship hit by deadly 'rogue wave' speak out
The Ucluelet wave is regarded as the most extreme rogue wave because it was around three times higher than surrounding waves, while the Draupner wave was only around twice as tall compared with the surrounding sea state. The death on the Viking Cruises ship this week comes after the death of two other cruise ship passengers in the Antarctic last month. Two Quark Expeditions cruise ship passengers died after one of the ship’s heavy duty inflatable Zodiac boats overturned near shore, Seatrade Cruise News reported. A passenger died and four others were injured after a large, unexpected wave hit a cruise ship traveling toward a popular launching point for expeditions to Antarctica, Viking Cruises said. One person died and four others were injured after a "rogue wave" hit the Viking Polaris cruise ship while it was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, on Tuesday night, officials said. The ship is docked as passengers await further travel plans from Viking, according to Gooding, who said that two other ships in their bay in Ushuaia were also damaged, possibly by rogue waves.
Dead, 4 Injured After Huge 'Rogue Wave' Smashes Into Cruise Ship Window
If the captain thought so, he would have asked to be evacuated which he hasn’t,” the rescue centre spokesperson said. In Hamburg, the Elbe River flooded streets around the city's fish market, with water waist-high in places. German authorities warned of a storm surge of up to three meters (nearly 10 feet) or more above mean high tide on parts of the North Sea coast on Friday. A woman who was struck by a falling tree on Thursday in the eastern Dutch town of Wilp later died of her injuries, her employer said. Because of a lack of navigational abilities, the ship had to be steered manually from the engine room, per the news agency. None of the 266 passengers or 131 crew members were seriously injured, HX said.
Neither the Viking statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown. Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of South America, is a common starting point for cruises to Antarctica. The Viking Polaris ship's next departure for the Antarctic, scheduled for Dec. 5, has been canceled "after careful consideration," the cruise line said. "Luckily, our windows did hold," she added, though said other rooms on their side of the ship were "washed out."
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The polar explorer Ernest Shackleton wrote in his book of a "gigantic" freak wave he encountered in Antarctica in 1916. "We wondered if we hit an iceberg," Suzie Gooding, a passenger from North Carolina, told WRAL-TV. "We are offering all appropriate consular assistance," the spokesperson said. "Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment." State Department spokesperson confirmed the death and offered condolences to the family.
A similar incident occurred on Viking Polaris last year, killing one passenger and injuring four others. State Department confirmed to ABC News that the deceased was an American citizen. The department added that it was "offering all appropriate consular assistance" to the victim's family. The area was hit by a storm late on Thursday with hurricane-force gusts blowing from the north-west that were forecast to continue on Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said. A towage vessel from the civil rescue company Esvagt was scheduled to arrive at the ship around 2230 GMT. The 266 passengers and 131 crew members were safe, according to the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
The MS Maud, which is run by the cruise company HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, left Floroe in Norway on Thursday and was scheduled to arrive in Tilbury in Great Britain on Friday. Tour operator Thorsten Hansen shared a video of the foamy waves battering the hull of the MS Maud, which made headlines Thursday when its electricity failed mid-voyage. The company says its main focus remains on the safety of its passengers ... Adding it's decided to cancel the Polaris' December 5 "Antarctic Explorer" voyage. These rare killer waves were once seen as a myth reported by mariners or explorers.
“Following ongoing safety checks and technical assessments, given the weather conditions, we decided to amend the planned sailing route. Across the fleet, there are thorough operational protocols in place and we always prioritize the safety of those onboard,” HX said. The MS Maud lost power after the wave hit as the ship was sailing toward Tilbury, England, from Florø, Norway, HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, said in a statement.
The ship was currently being steered manually from the engine room but cannot navigate. Esvagt support vessels had arrived to help the ship navigate until the ship could be towed to port. "Our team are working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard," the statement added. Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said. "The situation is stable, the ship has propulsion and they are able to navigate the ship manually via emergency systems," the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said in a statement Friday local time.
The Viking Polaris cruise ship was sailing toward Ushuaia in Argentina — the main starting point for expeditions to Antarctica — when there was "a rogue wave incident," a representative of the Viking cruise company said in a statement. The rogue wave shattered windows on the ship's bridge, which caused water to enter the vessel and resulted in a power outage, Reuters reported. "Spent 4 hours in survival suits and life vests while the Danish Coastguard and local oil rigs sent out rescue boats to escort us and provide navigation as the crew manually steered the boat from the engine room," one passenger wrote on Facebook.
Lawrence told BI that while she probably won't head to the North Sea in the winter again, she would still cruise with HX in the future. The Viking Polaris’ next departure, the Antarctic Explorer cruise scheduled for Dec. 5-17, was canceled due to the incident. The Viking Polaris was launched in 2022 and is the newest ship in the company's fleet.
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