The crew of the cruise ship AIDAnova rescued four fishermen after a fire broke out aboard a Danish fishing vessel in the Skagerrak between Denmark and Norway.
The incident occurred on 18 October while AIDAnova was sailing from Kiel, Germany, toward Bergen, Norway.
After receiving information about smoke and open flames aboard the fishing vessel, the cruise ship altered course and headed toward the emergency.
According to maritime reports, AIDAnova began deviating from its original route at around 14:30, proceeding toward the casualty at a speed of more than 21 knots.
By the time the cruise ship arrived, the four fishermen had already abandoned the burning vessel and entered a life raft.
The crew of AIDAnova launched one of the ship’s rescue boats, which approached the raft and recovered all four people.
At around 15:30 local time, the rescued fishermen were safely brought aboard the cruise ship.
None of the four suffered injuries. They were taken to AIDAnova’s onboard medical centre for examination following the rescue.
The operation was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Southern Norway.
Rescue helicopters from Norway and Denmark were also dispatched to the area. A Norwegian helicopter reportedly arrived at approximately 15:23, by which time the rescue was already being completed successfully.
The SuperSpeed 1 ferry operated by Color Line, sailing between Kristiansand and Hirtshals, was also diverted to assist. Once it was confirmed that all four people had been rescued, the ferry was allowed to continue its voyage.
The fishing vessel itself continued to burn. Photos and videos published by passengers onboard AIDAnova showed intense flames and thick smoke rising from the casualty.
After the rescue operation was completed, AIDAnova resumed its voyage to Bergen, with the four rescued fishermen remaining onboard.
The cruise ship arrived in Bergen the following day, where the rescued seafarers were able to disembark.
AIDAnova has a gross tonnage of approximately 183,858 GT and can carry more than 5,000 passengers. At the time of the incident, the vessel was at the beginning of a cruise from Germany to Norwegian ports.
The cause of the fire aboard the fishing vessel has not yet been established.
All four fishermen were rescued without injury, and the rapid response by AIDAnova’s crew brought the emergency to a successful conclusion before conditions on the burning vessel could deteriorate further.
