Viking Sky stalls off Norway

Heavy weather stranded the Viking Sky of Viking Ocean Cruises off the coast of Norway on March 23. The head of Norway’s maritime agency said that rough seas may have caused movements in the lubricating oil tanks so large that sensors detected a shortage and shut down the engines.

Of the 1,373 passengers and crew, helicopters and rescue boats evacuated about 500 people, 20 of them injured, one critically. The ship was sailing from Tromsø to Stavanger. Norwegian authorities are investigating why it sailed despite storm warnings.

Three of the ship’s four engines were restarted the next day, and two tugboats helped it get to the port of Molde with the remaining passengers.