The cruise ship MS Maud was returning to the UK from a 14 night Northern Lights cruise when it was caught in a severe storm in the North Sea. During the storm, the ship was struck by a rogue wave, shattering the windows on the bridge deck. The flooding of the bridge deck resulted in a temporary loss of power as well as damage to the ship’s navigation systems and radars. There were also reports of a loss of bridge steering control that was taken over by an engine room backup.
The 266 passengers and 131 crew members aboard the Maud are safe, according to the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
The ship, owned and operated by cruise company HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group. left Floroe in Norway on Thursday and was due to arrive in Tilbury in the UK on Friday. The Maud is now being towed to Bremerhaven in Germany, Danish authorities said.