Cargo ship arrives in Norway after successful rescue operation

The abandoned Dutch cargo ship that had been adrift in rough waters off Norway safely arrived at a Norwegian port on Thursday, after rescue crews managed to board and secure the 112-metre-long vessel in the early morning, averting an oil spill.

The ship docked at a quay in the town of Alesund after being towed towards the coast by tugboats at a leisurely pace for several hours.

Rescue teams had managed to get on board the Eemslift Hendrika and connect the ship with two tugboats on Wednesday, the Norwegian Coastal Administration said.

It was important to get the crippled vessel under control as rough seas increased the risk of that ship capsizing or hitting land.

The towing operation to bring the crippled vessel to shore from a position 10 nautical miles from the Norwegian coast had been originally postponed to Thursday due to the bad weather.

400 tons of fuel

Officials feared that the ship could sink and spill oil into the sea. It is carrying some 350 tons of heavy fuel oil and 50 tons of diesel.

The tugs were chartered from the Dutch salvage company Smit Salvage.

Smit Salvage is a subsidiary of the company Boskalis, which handled the salvage operation of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal.

The freighter issued a distress call on Monday after running into difficult weather. Its cargo shifted, causing it to list.

The ship stabilized after the cargo was shifted back, but the 12-person crew was flown by helicopter to shore as a precaution.