Maritime Casualties--March 9, 2010
Latest maritime casualty news.
• Ferries Freed From Ice in Baltic Sea
Four ferries with 1,000 passengers stuck in the frigid Baltic Sea, were freed from heavy ice with the help of icebreakers off Sweden's coast and arrived back in port in Stockholm on Friday.
The ferries and at least 30 other ships experienced difficulties breaking free from the ice because of arctic winds on Thursday that forced ice toward the coast. Sweden and the Finnish island Aland were areas bounded by the worst ice. Reports also confirmed southern areas of the Baltic were colder than normal, while the north experienced normal temperatures and levels of ice.
The icebreakers that normally transit in those particular areas stricken by worse ice had trouble coping. Those vessels increased preparedness because the pressure the ice puts on the sides of these ships. Swedish Maritime Administration warned ships not to take the route where most of the ferries were stuck.