MS Nordlys accidents and incidents

15 September 2011Fire Accident

In the morning on September 15, 2011, the ship suffered an engine room fire accident, which resulted in 2 dead and 16 injured crew. All the 207 passengers and the 53 crew (total 55) were evacuated, mainly via lifeboats.

The fire broke out when the vessel was near Alesund Norway. The cruise ship was later assisted by emergency vessels dispatched from Alesund. Around 100 passengers were evacuated via lifeboats, the rest passengers and crew were offloaded via improvised gangways to the pier. All were accommodated to local hotels.

On September 16, the emergency teams had to pump water out from the ship to prevent capsizing, as it started tilting critically at nearly 22 degrees. Using additional pumps, by the evening the ship slowly righted itself to 16 degrees list.

22 February 2007Propulsion / Power Loss

(CruiseMapper emailed report from Oliver Edvard Natas)

On the 22nd of February 2007, Nordlys reported an engine failure en route from Honningsvag to Hammerfest in Norway.

The vessel decided to anchor in the Mageroy Sound (Mageroya/Mager Island).

When the engine problems were fixed, the crew discovered that the anchor was stuck in an electrical underwater cable, and decided to cut the anchor. Divers, later on, inspected the cable, which provides electricity to the people of Mageroya.

19 February 2002Propulsion / Power Loss

(CruiseMapper emailed report from Oliver Edvard Natas)

Nordlys had an engine failure outside Viking Lighthouse (Verdens Ende/Tjome Island Norway) on the 19th of February 2002, at around 10 AM.

The vessel was en route from Ornes to Nesna when it lost power on the engine. This was caused by water in the fuel. It was a total of 106 passengers and 36 crew when it happened. It was strong winds, and due to the depths, the vessel couldn't anchor.

Two Sea King Rescue Helicopters and the local coast guard patrol vessel came to assist. The local ferry moored alongside the vessel and maneuvered her into shallower water depths so that she could anchor safely.

The engine crew manage to separate the water from the fuel, and the vessel proceeded an hour later to Sandnessjoen.