Trapped in the ice of the Baltic Sea: icebreakers have to free cruise ship

Kemi (Finland) -When they booked an adventurous trip to Finland, the guests certainlyhadn 't imagined it. One morning, the cruise ship they were on couldn't move another meter. It was trapped in the ice.

The rescue took until the early hours of the morning, only then was the "Hanseatic Spirit" able to sail independently again.
The rescue took until the early hours of the morning, only then was the "Hanseatic Spirit" able to sail independently again.  © Screenshot: facebook.com/Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

In a Facebook post , the cruise company "Hapag-Lloyd Cruises" reports on the frightening situation that awaited the guests of the "Hanseatic Spirit" on Monday morning.

There was an unexpected cold snap in the night from Sunday to Monday. The ship, which was at that moment in the bay "Bottenwiek" - the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea - was no longer able to cope with the ice.

Although the cruiser is actually made for the cold climate zones and even has the highest ice class for passenger ships (PC 6), it got stuck in the ice and was unable to free itself under its own power.

Fortunately, rescue was not far away. The Finnish Coast Guard sent two of its icebreaker ships, the POLARIS 2016 and the KONTIO 1987, to join forces to free the "Hanseatic Spirit" and its 200 or so passengers from the eternal ice.

Many of the guests joined in the excitement on the outside deck of the cruiser and were certainly relieved when the icebreakers freed the ship.

Then it was back on course - off to the Kvarken archipelago, a small group of islands between Sweden and Finland.

The crew on board photographed the insidious ice floes that were holding up the ship.
The crew on board photographed the insidious ice floes that were holding up the ship.  © Screenshot: facebook.com/Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
By joining forces, the two Finnish icebreakers POLARIS 2016 and KONTIO 1987 managed to free the "Hanseatic Spirit" again.
By joining forces, the two Finnish icebreakers POLARIS 2016 and KONTIO 1987 managed to free the "Hanseatic Spirit" again.  © Screenshot: facebook.com/Hapag-Lloyd Cruises

Expedition class ships travel all over the world

The cruise company "Hapag-Lloyd Cruises" has three ships in the so-called expedition class, with which guests can travel to the world's most extreme climate zones. The "Hanseatic Spirit" sails not only in the Baltic Sea, but also in the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Drake Strait between South America and Antarctica.

Next Saturday, the crew of the "Hanseatic Spirit" will be casting off again! Then it's off on a 17-day cruise from Hamburg to Funchal - the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira.