Danish navy fear cruise ship disaster
SHIPPING: The Danish navy has decided to station two of its heavy vessels in the shipping lanes of western and eastern Greenland for fear of a disaster because cruise vessels sail too close to icebergs and glaciers in the territory.
"We are responsible for rescue in Arctic waters from Cape Farewell in southern Greenland to the North Pole. It's a vast area and we are obviously not able to be everywhere", Rear Admiral Henrik Kudsk, Commanding Officer at the Danish Grønnedal base in the Arsuk Fjord in southern Greenland, told daily Politiken
"Experience from Antarctica shows that you need a cruise ship to rescue a cruise ship - no other vessels have the capacity. So we are advising cruise companies to cooperate and sail in pairs in Greenland waters", Kudsk said.
Commander Jan Bøgsted is one of those who would have to coordinate a rescue if a cruise ship with 4,200 passengers needed rescue.
"In fact, it is not a question of if, but when it happens. It's only a question of time", Bøgsted told Politiken..
Thirty-six cruise ships visited Greenland in 2009.
Source: politiken.dk / maritimedanmark.dk
