Finland’s Viking Line is to send its LNG-powered cruise ferry Viking Grace to a repair yard after the vessel ran aground in Mariehamn on Saturday.
Viking Grace, which operates the Stockholm–Aland Islands–Turku route, had a ground contact outside the harbour of Mariehamn at 14:10 local time.
Furthermore, Viking Line said there were 331 passengers and 98 crew members on board during the time of the incident with no injuries reported.
The reason behind the grounding could be strong winds but the ferry operator did not confirm this in its official update.
The LNG-powered ferry was towed to the harbour of Mariehamn during the night.
Viking Line added it will replace the ship from Monday with Gabriella while Viking Grace will continue from Mariehamn to Turku Repair Yard in the next few days.
The ferry operator did not provide any details of the extent of the damage saying that additional information would follow soon.
Measuring 218 metres in length and almost 32 metres in width, Viking Grace holds the title of the world’s first-ever large ferry to run on LNG.
Built by Meyer Verft’s Turku yard in 2013, the vessel can accommodate up to 2,800 passengers and 500 cars.
Earlier this year, the vessel completed a milestone, 2000th LNG bunkering operation in the Ports of Stockholm.
Besides having an LNG propulsion, the vessel also has a rotor sail for auxiliary wind propulsion.