The Swedish rescue service Sjöräddningen states on Saturday that the vessel is still aground, but no fuel is leaking, reports Aftonbladet. The ferry also does not take in water.
The grounding took place around 1pm at the entrance to the city of Mariehamn. There are 429 people on board the ferry, of which 331 are passengers.
The boat was on its way from Stockholm to Turku via Mariehamn, and a grounding occurred in the harbor area.
The crew on board have given notice that they do not need help. The Finnish maritime rescue service and the coastguard are in place in their respective vessels, but are waiting to either evacuate the ship or tow it to port.
– Never experienced anything like this
It is unclear what caused the incident, but strong winds are reported in the area. Viking Line has canceled several other departures.
A passenger says Aftonbladet that he was sitting in the cabin when the ship ran aground.
– I saw that it had started to blow properly, but saw no reason to be worried.
Then it happened.
– It shook. I have never experienced anything like this, he says.
No one in danger
It is unclear whether the ship can continue sailing on Saturday.
– We must take the time to find out what has happened, but the goal is to get passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible. But I do not know exactly how to do it, says Eleonora Hansi, press manager at Viking Line, to SVT.
None of the passengers should be in danger.
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