Passenger ships stuck in ice for hours off Swedish coast

Worst situation over, delays still expected

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Shipping between Finland and Sweden is gradually getting back to normal after wind that has pushed ice toward the Swedish coast has calmed, and passenger ships can again sail normally.
      According to Ilmari Aro, head of the winter navigation unit of the Finnish Transport Agency, Thursday’s weather came as a surprise to captains of passenger ships. The ice situation in the sea between the Åland Islands and the Swedish coast was the worst in more than 20 years.
     
Icebreakers struggled through Thursday night to get vessels detached from the ice. The situation was difficult in other areas as well, with more than 50 vessels waiting for the help of icebreakers in different parts of the Gulf of Bothnia, according to a story in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter , quoting Swedish maritime officials.
      On Thursday, the cold weather and strong wind combined to form areas of thick packed ice, and a total of eight vessels got stuck, including the large Viking Line car ferries Isabella and Amorella, with close to 2,000 passengers combined.
     
Earlier on Thursday, at 4:00 PM, the Amorella and the RoRo vessel Finnfellow collided with each other at a slow speed as they were trying to come unstuck from the ice. The Amorella was stuck for hours. The Swedish heavy-duty icebreaker, the Ymer arrived on the scene at about midnight, but Amorella did not get loose for another hour.
      Getting stuck in packed ice can be serious for a passenger vessel, as there is a danger that the moving ice might push it against rocks on the sea bottom which might puncture the hull.
     
The situation on board the Isabella, was described as calm. One of the passengers told Helsingin Sanomat that those on board were offered free meals.
      When the announcement was made that the ship was stuck in ice, children on board reportedly started to clap and cheer.
     
Although the situation is improving both Viking Line and Silja Line, which operate passenger services between Finland and Sweden, expect further delays. Some departures have been cancelled.


Links:
  Severe ice situation costs Finland dear (5.2.2010)

Helsingin Sanomat