Weltnachrichten – CA – The Baltic Sea ferry runs aground in Finnish waters

HELSINKI: A Baltic Sea ferry with 331 passengers and a crew of 98 people ran aground in the archipelago of the Aland Islands between Finland and Sweden.

The Finnish Coast Guard tweeted on Saturday afternoon that the Viking Line ferry, which runs between the Finnish port city of Turku and the Swedish capital Stockholm, landed right outside the port of Mariehamn, the capital of the Aland Islands.

Viking Grace ran aground off Mariehamn. Firmly grounded, no leaks. . . . The first rescue units are on site, says the tweet.

The ship was en route from Stockholm to Turku with a planned stop in Mariehamn. At that time there were strong storm winds in the area. The ferry operator Viking Line confirmed the incident and said it is investigating.

Coast Guard officials told the Finnish media that the Viking Grace, a large ship that could carry up to 2. Can carry 800 passengers, was near the coast when for some reason it appeared to be floating towards land.

In September, the passenger ferry Viking Lines M / S Amorella also ran aground in the Aland Islands, an autonomous Finnish territory made up of thousands of named and unnamed islands. The shallow water and narrow passages are particularly difficult for large ships to navigate. No one was injured in the September incident.

MS Viking Grace, Finland, Viking Line, ship landing stage, Baltic Sea, ferry, Åland Islands, Mariehamn