A luxury cruise ship Ocean Explorer with 206 passengers on board ran aground off Greenland’s eastern coastline on September 11.

The ship's captain and crew members made several unsuccessful attempts to free the ship on tidal currents in the past few days, according to a statement from Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command (JAC).

A Danish naval vessel, the Knud Rasmussen, was dispatched to help the Ocean Explorer, but it wasn’t due to arrive until late Friday.

As soon as we realized that the Ocean Explorer could not get free on its own, we sent a ship towards the wreck, Arctic Commander Brian Jensen said.

Fortunately, the Ocean Explorer has been successfully freed on Thursday morning, Denmark’s military Joint Arctic Command said. As the JAC said the ship had been pulled free by a fishing research vessel.

Aurora Expeditions is the ship’s Sydney-based operator. Aurora Expeditions specializes in polar trips, including a 30-day cruise.

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