A tourist has died after the replica of a Viking ship she was sailing on hit rough seas this week, capsizing the vessel about 60 miles off the west coast of Norway. The ship's five other passengers were rescued, and the woman's body was later found near the scene.
The unnamed woman, whom Agence France Presse reports was an American citizen in her 20s, was part of an expedition from the Faroe Islands to Norway, in an attempt to recreate a voyage similar to one that Vikings embarked on more than 1,000 years ago. However, during the fourth day of the trip on Tuesday evening, the 30-foot Naddoddur, powered only with sails and oars, hit waves up to 16 feet in height with winds as much as 40 knots, prompting the crew to send a distress signal.
The mayday call was initially dismissed as a false alarm after boats and a helicopter arrived at the scene and found nothing, but a wider rescue operation was launched after the boat's occupants sent a second call just an hour later. The ship's five survivors were able to climb aboard an inflatable life raft, and were later airlifted to safety by helicopter.
On Wednesday morning, a woman's body was recovered from the area near where the ship sank.
Norway’s Sea Rescue Society posted a video of the area where the ship sank on Tuesday, showing the high waves and choppy waters.
"The rescue boat 'Idar Ulstein' is now at the place where the Viking ship capsized west of Stad," the agency wrote. "We keep an eye on the ship, and do what we can to assist with the salvage, but the weather conditions make it very demanding."
#Redningsskøyta «Idar Ulstein» er på nå på stedet hvor vikingskipet har kantret vest av #Stad. Vi holder øye med skipet, og gjør det vi kan for å bistå med bergingen, men værforholdene gjør det svært krevende. pic.twitter.com/iLUUeo6Qoz
— Redningsselskapet (@NSSR) August 27, 2024
The the expedition had reportedly already been postponed for several days due to the inclement weather.
Bergur Jacobsen, chairman of the Naddoddur boat club on the Faroe Islands, told the BBC that the ship had previously made the journey to places such as Iceland, Shetland, and Norway without incident. "It's not a Viking boat, it's a Faroes fishing boat without a motor but with sails," Jacobsen explained, but declined to comment further amid a pending investigation.
Prior to the trip, Livar Nysted, a crew member from the Faroes, said that "you just try to do the best you can" when sailing through a storm. "It's an open boat. You sleep under the stars and when it's raining or windy you can feel the elements," he noted.
