Norwegian cruise ship runs aground in Bermuda

Thousands of passengers bound for Boston will spend the night stuck aboard a Norwegian cruise ship after it ran aground as it tried to depart Bermuda. Small boats, divers and tug boats circled the Norwegian Dawn ship as officials tried to figure out how to solve the situation, according to tweets from passengers aboard the boat. An official with Bermuda’s Rescue Coordination Center who was not authorised to speak to the media told The Associated Press the ship hit the reef near Bermuda’s North Channel.

We definitely felt it…we were in the middle of eating dinner … There was a shudder for maybe 30 seconds to a minute and then there was a sudden stop.

Passenger Rachel Hansen

The passenger described how she and her family gathered essential belongings and joined other people who went to the top of the ship to see what had happened. As the hours went by, she said passengers settled into their evening routine and the ship still held entertainment shows as planned. Norwegian Cruise Line said in a brief statement that the ship temporarily lost power and its propulsion was affected. Officials said everyone aboard is safe and that the ship has full power. The company did not return a request for additional comment. The Norwegian Dawn offers a seven-day, round-trip cruise to Bermuda, where it spends three days in port.

We had crew members running around in a panic, and we felt like we had to panic.

Rachel Hansen

bermuda Americas