Viking Sky position, adrift off Norway Coast and evacuating Passengers & Crew

[zitsky]

13 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

So I have it to wonder about this fixation by ABoatNerd on the engines and insinuations of a coverup. For all we know the weather and the tugs in Bodø are related. As simple as If winds > x Then #availabletugs = 0. 

 

If you're on the ship or connected to Viking or have maritime experience, then you have good info.  If you're like the rest of us, it is mostly speculation.   

[rcandkc]

I am curious as how they choose the order of evacuation.  I would not want to leave my husband behind...I’d rather stay than that choice.  I’m so proud of all crew, Officers, and passengers for staying calm and taking care of the emergency at hand.  Thank goodness you are all safe!

[RMLincoln]

Been following.... wondering if there was triage of the mustered passengers determining who was air-evacuated by helicopter, and in what order?  Thank you.  

Overjoyed all are safe, injured being cared for; blessings to all!  Kudos to the decision-makers, crew, passengers and especially the rescuers!  All working together for a Job Well Done!  m--  

[Cienfuegos]

Amazing that so many people were evacuated, seemingly without a scratch.

 

[CharTrav]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

 

If you're on the ship or connected to Viking or have maritime experience, then you have good info.  If you're like the rest of us, it is mostly speculation.   

Guilty as charged. Making WAGs. But can claim experience being on the Sky last year where we skipped two ports in a row because of sea conditions - nothing to do with the ship. The ship was fine. 

 

[buggins0402]

I am still unclear as to whether the high seas could have caused the mechanical difficulties...anyone?

[zitsky]

Just now, CharTrav said:

Guilty as charged. Making WAGs. But can claim experience being on the Sky last year where we skipped two ports in a row because of sea conditions - nothing to do with the ship. The ship was fine. 

 

 

Oh I would include you in the pax connected to Viking as someone on a previous cruise.  I have never been on a Viking Ocean cruise, not until September.  So my ocean experience is limited to 1 Norwegian cruise.

[kathy49]

58 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

According to a blog maintained by one of the onboard lecturers Corey Sandler, Bodø was skipped because of heavy winds. (http://sky.coreysandler.com/). Not a mechanical issue. This is no different than when we were on the Sky last year in the Caribbean and had to skip two ports because of sea conditions preventing safe docking. 

This blog is very interesting indeed....this was on back to back lights cruises and the first one the lights photos are extraordinary...this second one did not have that level of luck with the weather. He also said "The rare incident was probably caused by an electrical fault brought on by the extreme seas."  That is a very amateur assessment but probably one that he heard on board...it is a bid much to think it is just  a fluke.  Interesting they were in that narrow area to try to avoid exactly what happened.

[kathy49]

6 minutes ago, buggins0402 said:

I am still unclear as to whether the high seas could have caused the mechanical difficulties...anyone?

no one here can say that with any level of certainty. That will have to come from the experts.

[cyrreb]

 

54 minutes ago, ABoatNerd said:

 

Thank you very much CharTrav.  This information is not aligned with the earlier post that I quoted about Bodo being missed due to a lack of tugs. These are 2 very different explanations.

 

A key question will be - did the Sky have mechanical issues before the incident or did the engines suddenly and without warning fail.  This is a huge question and points right at the heart of Viking Ocean corporation.

Bodo was skipped on the cruise that began Mar 2 from Tilbury.  We were told that high winds made it unsafe.  I seem to recall hearing that the same cancellation (with the same reason) had happened on at least one cruise before ours.   Perhaps Bodo is just not a safe port for large ships in Feb and March, and shouldn’t have been on the itinerary.  Remember, this is the first season that Viking has offered a Northern Lights cruise.  

[Jammy Bun]

2 hours ago, cruisewiththekids said:

Do you suppose this incident will make Viking rethink this itinerary for next year?    I haven't noticed any other cruiselines offer this itinerary in the winter.   I notice Princess does a sailing in October.

Several cruise lines sail from the UK to Norway during the winter months on 'Northern Lights' itineraries - P&O, Cunard and Fred Olsen.  We sailed from Southampton to northern Norway (and back) on Fred Olsen's Boudicca in February 2012.  It was one of my favourite cruises and I am hoping to repeat the experience in the future on a Viking ship.

[Glenndale]

https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/ocean/our-ships/saga-sapphire/saga-sapphire-blog/2019/february/15.aspx

 

We were on this cruise and if you read the blog the winds were around 65 knots gusting to around 100 knots.

There was movement on the ship but generally the ship handled it well under power.

The difference being that Viking Sky had lost power.

[OnTheJourney]

37 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

I am curious as how they choose the order of evacuation.  I would not want to leave my husband behind...I’d rather stay than that choice.  I’m so proud of all crew, Officers, and passengers for staying calm and taking care of the emergency at hand.  Thank goodness you are all safe!

 

There seemed to be no specific order for evac, other than injured people in stretchers as soon as they could be brought up the stairwells. It was sometimes not easy since obviously the stairs were full of people from deck 8 on down. So the crew would have to call for the people to go to one side to make a pathway to bring up  passengers in stretchers or wheelchairs. My wife was airlifted and I assumed I would be next, but then they had brought up another stretcher and so told me to wait. I think I wound up going one or two people after that. The calm that all the passengers maintIned in the stairwells was remarkable. It was most impressive. 

[just_dont]

Insurance and legal entities will investigate the mechanical history of the Sky and the track history of adhering to port schedules. 
 
Outside the actual event - the question are:
 
1) Did Viking Ocean know their ship had mechanical issues? 
 
2) Or did the mechanical issues suddenly, and without warning, just happen on March 23, 2019?
 
Tugs might have assisted in docking in contrary winds. Most ships can dock without assistance despite wind. The Captain's "tugs" comments will also be investigated.  Notwithstanding, it appears the Captain and crew did a great job in this unfortunate incident.
 
Guess we will hear in the future.

OMG.
You must be an attorney.

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[Clay Clayton]

3 hours ago, Presto2 said:

I also hope that the Captain and his crew are having a stiff drink tonight. Imagine being so responsible for so many lives.

From what I am reading they all did an amazing job. Just wish we could afford a Viking cruise ...

Check out their transatlantic cruises, they are more affordable. We did eastbound last spring on this very ship (and leave Thursday on Her sister Sea) and came back from Europe in a November on Norwegian Star.  I did a comparison on my blog, Viking cost us $41 per person per day more but we believe we got waaay more value than that.  

[BarbarianPaul]

57 minutes ago, ABoatNerd said:

Insurance and legal entities will investigate the mechanical history of the Sky and the track history of adhering to port schedules. 

 

Outside the actual event - the question are:

 

1) Did Viking Ocean know their ship had mechanical issues? 

 

2) Or did the mechanical issues suddenly, and without warning, just happen on March 23, 2019?

 

Tugs might have assisted in docking in contrary winds. Most ships can dock without assistance despite wind. The Captain's "tugs" comments will also be investigated.  Notwithstanding, it appears the Captain and crew did a great job in this unfortunate incident.

 

Guess we will hear in the future.

My experience with both Viking Ocean and River Cruises is that, quibbles aside, they’re a pretty well run corporation. I’ll be surprised if we hear this ship was poorly maintained, or pushed into continued operation in lieu of necessary maintenance.

[Jim Avery]

Clay, I was thinking the same thing about Presto2.  If you do your homework and add in on other lines all the things included on a Viking Oceans cruise (and compare costs to Brand X balcony cabins as VO is all balcony) Viking Oceans actually costs very little more than mass market lines.  🍸

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, gretschwhtfalcon said:

 

Just quoting what the captain told us. I know about the high winds there, and, yes, Corey alluded to this as you mentioned, which is what made it so surprising that the captain said about not having tugs. 

 

Isn't it possible (or even likely) that the high winds necessitated the use of tugs ... which weren't available?  So both explanations would be correct.

 

In response to other posts: I have read all the posts in this thread, and there has been nothing to suggest mechanical issues before the loss of power – so it is not necessary to keep flogging the conspiracy theory re Bodo etc.

[just_dont]

Clay, I was thinking the same thing about Presto2.  If you do your homework and add in on other lines all the things included on a Viking Oceans cruise (and compare costs to Brand X balcony cabins as VO is all balcony) Viking Oceans actually costs very little more than mass market lines.  [emoji483]

Although, you do have to pay it much farther in advance [emoji849]

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[CharTrav]

52 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Oh I would include you in the pax connected to Viking as someone on a previous cruise.  I have never been on a Viking Ocean cruise, not until September.  So my ocean experience is limited to 1 Norwegian cruise.

You’ll love it. We’ve done 2 VO cruises (Viking Homelands on the Star and Panama/Central America on the Sky) and will be doing a long Med cruise next year on the Sea. 

Edited March 24, 2019 by CharTrav

[ABoatNerd]

Insurance and lawyers have very specific questions regarding this ship.

 

The entire history of the vessel, the # of missed ports/late ports, the mechanical inspections, the US Coast Guard Inspections, will all be evidence.

 

For a new vessel to have a sudden mechanical failure, without warning, is most interesting.

 

The missed port just before the incident, that will be investigated. The high wind situation reported by posters on this thread are most helpful. 

 

What is key is that this vessel was without power. There was a risk of capsize. It did not happen and that is something we are all most thankful for. However, the bald fact is a very new vessel lost power and therefore propulsion.. 

 

I believe another poster on this board indicated that loss of propulsion has happened before to this class of ship. If so, big issue for Viking, a private holding company.

 

 

[agathasmum]

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

A little off topic, but have spent many months in the Meddy. Experienced everything from flat calm to 40 kt storm, when we had a gangway washed overboard on SS Uganda. Worst weather was always Jan/Feb.

 

SS Uganda. there’s a blast from the past. I went on a school cruise on her in 1976. What a rust bucket she was then!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

27 minutes ago, just_dont said:

OMG.
You must be an attorney.

 

99% of all lawyers – make the rest of us look bad...

[Clay Clayton]

19 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Clay, I was thinking the same thing about Presto2.  If you do your homework and add in on other lines all the things included on a Viking Oceans cruise (and compare costs to Brand X balcony cabins as VO is all balcony) Viking Oceans actually costs very little more than mass market lines.  🍸

If anyone wants an apples to apples (well maybe golden delicious to Granny Smiths) here is a link to my comparison:

http://cruisinwithclay.com/2019/02/12/transatlantic-battle/

[just_dont]

 
99% of all lawyers – make the rest of us look bad...

My apologies to attorneys everywhere (including my brother) [emoji6]

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