Authorities Scramble To Contain Oil Spill After Passenger Ship Sinks In Greenland
Emergency crews near the southern Greenland community of Nanortalik worked over the weekend to contain a 20,000-liter oil spill after the small passenger ferry Adolf Jensen sank.
The ship ran aground and sank last week at the mouth of the Tasiilmut Strait, north of Nanortalik.
In addition to 1,000 liters of gasoline, the ship was carrying 15,000 to 20,000 liters of diesel.
“We don’t know where the oil on board came from or how much is leaking at the moment. It’s a bit difficult to assess,” said Jako Andreassen, head of the Greenland Police Investigation Team.
The police report explained that initial efforts to contain the spill using booms and floating pumps were hampered by tides, currents and winds.
The Ministry of Environment and Emergency Management added requests for assistance, including from the Danish Navy Arctic Command. Officials said more personnel were sent to the scene over the weekend as cleanup efforts continued.
“Layers of oil were visible on the surface of the water in the Nanotalik Strait as a result of the Adolf Jensen leak,” local police said, according to AFP.
The ship’s crew and passengers were able to be safely evacuated and reached shore after being stranded for about five hours before sinking.
According to its website, Greenlandic 60 North operates the Adolf Jensen. It offers boat rentals, accommodation, and construction services.
The passenger ship Adolf Jensen was a former research vessel and is based in Arctic waters near Greenland.
The company’s president and CEO, Rasmus Christian Rasmussen, told AFP he was unavailable for comment. “I have nothing to say and I don’t know what happened.
Over the past decade, cruise and expedition ships of all sizes have been involved in several near-fatal incidents in Arctic waters.
In 2018, the Russian passenger ship Akademik Ioffe ran aground in the Canadian Arctic with 162 passengers and crew on board while sailing in shallow, poorly charted waters. Calm seas kept the ship afloat, and rescue by a nearby Canadian Coast Guard vessel prevented a major accident.
Eight years ago, the Clipper Adventurer, a cruise ship capable of traversing 100-meter-high ice, collided with an underwater obstacle just over three meters below the surface in Coronation Gulf near Kugluktuk, Canada, with about 200 passengers on board. Calm seas again allowed for an organized rescue operation.
In March 2019, the Norwegian cruise ship Viking Sky nearly ran aground with 1,374 passengers and crew on board after losing propulsion while sailing in the Norwegian Sea.
