Viking Sky: Hull Not Damaged, Cooling Water Inlets Not Clogged

The Norwegian Maritime Authority has confirmed that the Viking Sky did not suffer any hull damage when she lost power on Saturday off the Norwegian coast. Divers have confirmed there is no damage below the waterline of the vessel and that the cooling water inlets were not clogged.

The Authority inspected the vessel on Monday but says it is not yet clear what caused the blackout that led to hundreds of passengers being airlifted from the vessel before she was towed to port at Molde.

“It is too soon to draw any conclusions on what may have caused the ship to lose its engine output outside Hustadvika Saturday afternoon. Nevertheless, it is a fact that there has been a blackout, and we yet not been able to determine the cause of this blackout. So far however, it has been established that when the incident had occurred, the competency and efforts of the crew played an important role in the fortunate outcome,” said the Authority in a statement.

The incident is also being investigated by classification society Lloyd's Register, the Norwegian police and the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board. The U.S. and the United Kingdom consider they are substantially interested states and will participate in the investigation with their respective accident investigation branches.

The cargo vessel Hagland Captain went to the aid of Viking Sky but also lost propulsion and the crew were airlifted off. The vessel was towed to Averøy where it will be inspected by the classification society DNV GL. As far as the Norwegian Maritime Authority knows, the vessel has not touched ground, but this will be determined as part of the classification society’s follow up. The vessel is currently being unloaded.