COPENHAGEN - The Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud suffered a power outage after a rogue wave shattered windows on the bridge while it sailed in the North Sea, causing the vessel to lose its ability to navigate, the Danish authorities and the ship’s owner said on Dec 21.

The 266 passengers and 131 crew members were safe, according to the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

“There is no power on the ship. The main engine is functioning but the navigation systems and radars are not,” a spokesperson for the centre, which is responsible for coordinating search and rescue operations, said.

While sailing roughly 200km off Denmark’s west coast and roughly 330km off Britain’s east coast, strong winds blasted windows on the bridge of the vessel, allowing water to enter and resulting in a power failure on the bridge, the centre said.

The ship, which belongs to cruise company HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, left Floroe in Norway on Dec 21 and was due to arrive in Tilbury in Britain on Dec 22.

“Earlier this afternoon, Dec 21, MS Maud reported a temporary loss of power after encountering a rogue wave,” Hurtigruten said in an e-mailed statement.

“At this time, the ship has confirmed that no serious passenger or crew injuries have been sustained as a result of the incident and the condition of the ship remains stable,” it said.

A towage vessel from the civil rescue company Esvagt was scheduled to arrive at the ship around 10.30pm GMT.

The ship is being steered manually from the engine room, but cannot navigate. Esvagt support vessels arrived to help the ship navigate until the ship could be towed to port.

“I do not think there is any danger to the ship now. If the captain thought so, he would have asked to be evacuated, which he hasn’t,” the rescue centre spokesperson said.

The area was hit by a storm late on Dec 21 with hurricane-force gusts blowing from the north-west that were forecast to continue on Dec 22, the Danish Meteorological Institute said. REUTERS