Remembering 1553 hrs 21 December aboard the MS Maud
Not all festive cruises go according to plan. December is supposed to be a good time to see the beautiful icy Nordic landscapes, whales and the Northern Lights. MS Maud offered exceptionally good food, expedition talks and a traditional Norwegian Christmas display, a Gingerbread Town, made by the Hurtigruten chefs. But as I, and 265 passengers and 131 crew found out, there are risks attached to a trip crossing the North Sea in midwinter. Even a decorative gingerbread town can be dangerous.
On Thursday, 21 December 2023, the MS Maud, owned by Hurtigruten AS, was sailing south from Bessaker, Norway, when they received warnings that the approaching Storm Pia would bring Force 11 gales. In response, stops at Loen and Stavanger were cancelled. In the hope of beating the storm and being ready to pick up the next load of Northern Lights cruise passengers, the return North Sea crossing to Tilbury, Essex, was brought forward a day.
However, in the middle of the North Sea, 260 kilometres off Denmark’s west coast and 350 kilometres off Britain’s east coast, MS Maud met the full force of the storm, with huge rolling seas and waves estimated to be 8m high. Responding to the worsening conditions, the ship changed course in order to stem the wind and waves, albeit slowing the journey.
15:53 Norwegian time: a very high wave, later estimated at 9-14m, hit the bow. As the ship pitched forward, the bridge took the full force of the wave. On deck 7 it broke the bridge windows, filling the bridge with a foot of water, drenching the bridge crew, and putting its steering and and almost all electronics (including PA, radar and navigation) out of action.
As a result, both propellers stopped and the ship lost propulsion. With shattered glass everywhere and open to the elements, the bridge was rendered unsafe.
Water started entering a staircase and seeping through to cabins. Having effectively stalled, the stabilisers initially retracted. With no manual override, the ship was left rolling violently. Structural damage was later identified: forward bulkheads, stiffeners, weather door, hatch, anchor windlass.
There were reports of an oil rig ahead. In the severe storm, without propulsion, stabilisers or navigation, the captain sent out a mayday distress call.
Expecting the worst
16:00: passengers heard the frightening seven siren blasts of the emergency signal, repeated twice, and were ordered to go to muster stations and put on survival suits and wait. Fortunately lighting continued to function, but even so, putting on survival suits is not a simple operation, especially sliding across the floor as the ship rolled violently.
At the various muster stations around the ship passengers and crew faced flying cutlery, tumbling chairs, heavy broken table tops and the piano sliding across the floor. At Muster Station A, the large festive “gingerbread town” made with chipboard, gingerbread and icing sugar, collapsed. It joined the other debris of chairs and assembled passengers sliding around the floor as the ship lurched from side to side. The once-pretty, snowy icing-sugar was now a serious hazard, making the deck even more slippery.
Karen, who was one of first passengers to plough into the collapsing gingerbread town said: “I remember thinking how stupid it would look on my death certificate: “Death by gingerbread!”
On a higher deck Jane, another passenger, recalled that: “Things got crazy. A guy next to me shot across the room on a loose chair and nearly went through the window. He was saved by being hit with another chair that knocked him to the floor.”
And all the while, the very real and terrifying prospect of having to take to the life rafts in a Force 11 gale, in freezing temperatures, remained. A crew member clinging on to Karen for dear life was loudly saying her prayers. No doubt not the only one in conversation with God.
The crew struggled to check their electronic muster register to account for everyone. Passengers who were a distance from their designated muster station were directed to another. Some, in the confusion, went to the wrong station. Friends and families became separated and anxious as passengers could not be located.
With the shifting debris of the gingerbread town and the slip-sliding across the deck, one crew member lost their radio. They had to fetch a further radio and write on their hands and on sick bags the cabin numbers of passengers not present. On the upper decks, the crew were preparing the lifeboats. Deck 8, being higher, and where the premium cabins are, swayed violently. As the adage goes, “the more you pay, the more you sway”.
Help at hand
16:35: The first support vessel arrived – fortunately there are a lot of ships in the North Sea. Shortly after that, the crew restored propulsion. But with the bridge out of action, emergency steering was transferred to the engine room (something the crew practice but never expect to have to do).
There was a later (unconfirmed) report that the electronic equipment insisted on directing steering to the bridge control, and for a short while a crew member had to physically hold back a trip switch. Heroically the ship’s crew made best efforts to keep MS Maud heading into the waves and wind. Gradually the rolling decreased and the situation improved.
18:00: The crew began to deliver water, and later the amazing kitchen staff rustled up quality sandwiches with mustard and lettuce no less…all to the continuing sound of crashing crockery.
19:00: By now, there were three support vessels trying to stabilise the ship. The crew requested that one of them watch MS Maud‘s speed. The aim was to keep the ship’s speed low to minimise water ingress through the broken bridge windows. An attempt to temporarily repair them was deemed too dangerous due to the state of the wind and the sea.
Thankfully we never lost lights or air conditioning. After three hours sitting in survival suits with foam lifejackets around our necks, passengers were allowed to open them. They are designed to hold in body warmth in low temperatures, so were quite hot. Desperate passengers were guided to the toilet.
A tug was on its way.
21:00: After five hours sitting at muster stations, most passengers were allowed back to their cabins. They were all in complete disarray, with upturned tables, chairs and tea, coffee, cups, books strewn around. Some had to be relocated. Apart from seasickness, one broken leg and some minor injuries, most (including those on the bridge when the wave broke the windows), had escaped unharmed. No evacuation. Thankfully no deaths.
There were later reports that three passengers were admitted to hospital on arrival in Germany.
With most passengers back in their cabins – though some, still frightened, preferred the safety of sleeping on the floor at their muster station – the crew concentrated on holding the ship in a position to minimise pitching and rolling (straight into the wind), rather than trying to make for shore.
Friday 22 December
00:00: The first attempt to get a tow line aboard at midnight was aborted.
04:00: A further attempt was made, and again aborted. The seas were still wild.
09:00: The stabilisers were successfully deployed.
10:00: Finally the crew succeeded in connecting a tow line and began the manoeuvre to turn the ship and tow it to safe harbour at Bremerhaven, Germany.
Meanwhile the housekeeping crew continued to clear the loose debris while medics checked passengers in their cabins, and catering crew brought breakfast boxes of scrambled eggs and sausages, clean towels and bed linen.
Shortly after, the tow rope snapped. With the ship’s main engines now functioning, albeit with emergency steering, the MS Maud commenced the journey to Bremerhaven with a support vessel alongside, just for safety.
A sort of normality returns
11:30: The situation began to return to something like normal. The restaurant reopened and passengers began to eat to stabilise their stomachs. The flooded bridge remained sealed off.
14:30: The Captain could be seen with a laptop propped on a chair in an undamaged lounge area, watching out for the oil rigs which dot the North Sea.
Saturday 23 December
16:20: MS Maud finally berthed at Bremerhaven. Christmas Eve flights back to Heathrow were organised, which, being a day late, sadly meant some missed onward connections to their homelands, and others had difficulties getting home as London shut down for Christmas.
I commented at the time:
“One has nothing but admiration for the crew in trying to feed us, keep us calm and safe and work in what are still very rough seas. That said, no doubt the post mortem will reveal procedural and structural changes to mitigate what one crew member described as his “first serious incident in my 20 years of sailing.”
The post mortem
During her passage towards Tilbury, the MS Maud had planned to sail through North Utsire, South Utsire, Fisher (where the incident occurred), German Bight, Humber and Thames. There were significant weather warnings prior.
A report written by Hurtigruten Expedition Technical Services HTS Report 231221 seen by East Anglia Bylines reveals that the company did an in-depth investigation of the events and made certain observations:
- Decision-making was based on significant wave height with no evident consideration for the maximum wave height that could be encountered.
- Wave height, wave steepness and the period were not modelled for analysis.
- The vessel operators do not have a specific procedure to assess weather conditions and sea states. No risk-assessment was produced.
- All ships should review their back-up systems. These systems should be regularly tested and maintained and activated as far as is practicable.
- A short circuit in the PA system on the bridge prevented use of the backup stations around the vessel. As a result, the general alarm could only be sounded from reception.
- Company stakeholders were not aligned in assessing weather risk in the vessel’s itinerary.
- Commercial pressure – the impact of deviations on passengers’ Christmas plans may have impacted the decision-making process.
Hurtigruten has since renamed MS Maud to MS Midnatsol.
A year on
Many passengers have reported repeated nightmares reliving the trauma, and Hurtigruten offered post traumatic stress counselling to both passengers and crew. Following the ordeal, a number of passengers joined a WhatsApp group for mutual support.
This year, on the anniversary of our cruise, we have been sharing, day by day, photos of the wonderful sights we saw on our cruise.
Incredible skies, the Aurora Borealis, the intense blue colour of the sky of the polar night, the wonderful Norwegian landscapes. And remembering the good adventures we had – the dog sleigh through the snow, the ice train, the rib rides as well as the hospitality of the MS Maud‘s crew and the amazing food on board.
A year on, these are some fellow passenger reflections:
Jane: “Am enjoying folks sharing the nice stuff here this week. It’s given me the confidence to go through my photos and videos too. It’s still hard to get past the awful ending.”
Jen: “The Northern Lights trip had meant a lot to me. It was my way of getting back out into the world after Covid and losing my dear mum. It was a nudge to start living life again. There are moments on that trip I will never forget and friendships I forged that were special. That day, sitting there wedged against a wall in the muster station whilst the ship pitched, I remember thinking “is this really it?” It wasn’t, thank goodness, and although I still find it hard to think about, I hope I can regain a little of that adventurous spirit back again.”
Carole: “Whilst feeling really calm at the time of the incident I was really shaken up for a couple of weeks afterwards and had to cancel my new year plans to go away with friends as just wasn’t up to it. Then had a couple of months of physio on the painful bone contusions on my lower leg caused by that table (with the lamp bolted to it) falling on me. After that though I felt thankful. Odd I know. Thankful for the experience – how calm and helpful to each other (most) people were during the incident… How the crew looked after us despite being as concerned/worried/frightened as we were at the time… it helped me to focus on what’s really important in life and make some changes for the better. Of course I wouldn’t have chosen for it to happen and I seriously hope that lessons have been learned by the company (I believe they have) but it did happen and – thank goodness – things turned out fine in the end and for that I am truly grateful and always will be.”
Amanda: “It took me a while to get over it really. Without me actually realising I had a bit of PTSD, without sounding too dramatic. By this time (20 December) in the cruise, I was very happy and made some wonderful friends and memories. But still can’t quite believe how it finished.”
Derek: “Suzanne was just remembering that during our time at the muster station as we slid across the floor we seemed to accumulate a number of odd shoes, a cardigan/jumper and a handbag. We know that at least some of the shoes were reunited with their owners. About three hours after the handbag was found, someone was saying they had lost theirs, so it was reunited with its owner! At one point Kathryn threw across one of the Santa type hats from one of the gingerbread town figures for Suzanne to rest her head against the wall. When we got back home she discovered it in our luggage and had no memory of putting it there!”
Deb: “I went for a local walk yesterday by the estuary near where I live and just thought about how much my life has changed in the last year and how grateful I am that it didn’t end a year ago in the cold wet dark North Sea. It was utterly terrifying at the time but in a very strange way I’m glad it happened as it drew a line under some things that happened before and made me focus on now and the future.”
Normally on a cruise you spend a few days with nice people and then go your separate ways. But our trip was anything but normal. We have developed into a fellowship that without the traumatic events on 21 December 2023 would never have happened.
We are all blessed that our frightening North Sea adventure brought us enduring friendships and a hopeful future.
P.S. Thank you to all my fellow travellers who helped write this article and who have allowed use of their photos.
Share this article on Bluesky:
More from East Anglia Bylines
