US owner Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has scrapped a cruise off Alaska after one of its vessels hit an iceberg.
The 78,000-gt Norwegian Sun (built 2001) came into contact with the largely submerged ice on Saturday, ABC reported.
The rest of the nine-night voyage was abandoned, but no injuries were reported and the ship made it back to an Alaskan port safely.
The Norwegian Sun will return to Seattle on Thursday.
The cruise vessel was heading for the Hubbard Glacier when the incident occurred, the company said.
The small iceberg had less than a metre of its ice showing above the surface.
After impact, the ship changed course for Juneau for damage assessment. No update has been provided on that so far.
Future trips have now also been cancelled.
“The ship was given clearance by the United States Coast Guard and other local maritime authorities to return to Seattle at reduced speed,” a spokesperson for NLC said.
“All guests currently on board will disembark in Seattle as originally planned,” the spokesperson added.
Foggy trip
NCL told Cruise Hive that the Norwegian Sun was surrounded by a dense fog that had limited visibility.
Small icebergs are very common in areas with glaciers.
Vessels do not usually approach very close to the glaciers themselves.
And it is uncommon for a change, of course, to be necessary.
Passengers will be offered a full refund plus a credit equal to the value of their booking.
The Norwegian Sun cost $351m when it was ordered in 1999. VesselsValue assesses it as worth $66m now.
The cruise ship has insurance cover from Steamship Mutual and a clean port state control detention record dating back to delivery.
