Viking Sky is in trouble, passengers abandoning ship

Thanks for sharing this information.

Viking Sky now sailing, to its next scheduled cruise embarkation port, as of about 10 hours or so ago. Almost all furnishing etc. fixed, what little is left will be taken care of en-route. Total time working on it was less than the eight days originally anticipated.

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

I would say the same, maybe we look into booking a Viking Ocean cruise too. From what I can determine, the weather forecast was fairly accurate as to what the Viking Sky experienced. Maybe they hit a rouge wave or two in succession, but that is not uncommon. Sounds like this weather was no more than a force 8 on the Beauford Scale ("Gale") maybe even a force 7 "Near Gale". It certainly wasn't a "severe gale" or a "storm" or a "violent storm" or "hurricane force". Remember, wind speeds associated with these categories are "mean wind speeds" where gusts and lulls are factored in.

The Norwegian authorities have said that they did not see that there was anything out of the ordinary with this weather, and the ship should have had no problem if the engines had not stopped. As far as reports regarding Norwegian ferries canceling, other than one or two ports where docking was going to be difficult for them then so they canceled, I haven't read where there was a North Sea hazard to navigation in effect.

So what does that all mean? I would suggest that if a cruise line avoids all gale or near gale weather, then they might as well shut down and get off the high seas. Crew members, perhaps might consider looking for new horizons, like selling socks and stuff at J.C. Penny. Ha

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html

I've sailed on the Viking Sky twice, the most recent cruise being this past November. The crew, ship, and cruises were wonderful, and I remain an ardent fan of the company. I read that though oil levels were low, they were within limits of regulations. When the gale-force winds rocked the ship, the oil level was not able to lubricate the engines. I expect that this issue will be immediately addressed by Viking for future sailings. I also expect that both Viking's and Norway's investigations into the justification to sail during those conditions will impact company decisions in the future regarding sailings. Viking has provided an excellent product for me on five cruises, and I think that it's a great company and look forward to future adventures with them.

Sounds like they need to modify the minimal acceptable levels or at least qualify those numbers as when in ideal conditions and add a caveat that more than minimal oil levels is required in rough seas. One has to shake their head and wonder where common sense hides when the bean counters show up.

So even though the local ferries that ply these waters all the time have canceled, we that have never made this journey before are going anyway and we will do so with minimal oil levels as the manual says we can get by with this ... and no we do not need to think this through logically ... Mr Spock is not making the calls.

I suspect there may be a law suit or three pending over this one.

Sounds like a major design flaw, and a little bit of penny pinching on the side that didnt help!

Ah yes...the good ol "multiple factors"...mix in an assortment of foreign companies and maritime law and fine print and you get...hehehehehehehehehehe

"How long will it take to fix the engines Scotty?.. I need warp drive NOW!!!" "ARGGGGHHHH! At least a week Cap'n"

("But I can do it in an hour, don't say anything an we'll all be heroes boyz!...now where's me spanner???")

I'm glad I read it all before I started waving my arms round and yelling obscenities at the Chief Engineer and about 1/2 doz other techie engine room types. This is clearly a design flaw. the oil was actually within limits, but the motions of the ship in heavy weather caused it to slosh around, and the sensors went wackadoodle, and shut the engines to protect them. May I state the obvious that this happened on a ship!,,lemme do that louder ON A SHIP!!! hmmm..why is my mind wandering to BOEING???

So once shut down, they cant be restarted while the sloshing continues...I'm sure the Engine Room mustve been just a bundle of joy. Sure didn't take them very long did it?

Now then boyz...is all that lube in ONE tank, two, four? how many sensors are there, one two, four...you know where im going with this...your car starts blinking and such, the first thing the tech does is...check your sensors...b4 doing surgery...what, they cant be overridden, even in an emergency? after all, they could've started an engine and sacrificed it if necessary..but even that restart took quite awhile..let the fingerpointing and blame game commence...

Oh WOW

The engines of a luxury cruise ship that narrowly escaped disaster during a storm off Norway on Saturday failed because of relatively low levels of lubricating oil in the engines, the Norwegian Maritime Authority said on Wednesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-ship/luxury-cruise-ship-lost-engines-on-sat-due-low-level-of-lubricating-oil-norway-idUSKCN1R81PW?fbclid=IwAR0FOMn4cLT7E9eBW1i10EtY4DwzHURuVJlLNqWynhRl9t0MpgYfu4EyOjg