A BRITISH couple fear they will miss Christmas after Storm Pia battered their Norwegian cruise ship and left them stranded in the middle of the North Sea.
Grandfather Brian Launder, 75, and his wife Carole’s birthday were celebrating her 70th birthday on their first cruise when giant 20m waves hit the ship and left them stranded.
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Brian Launder, 75, and his wife Carole, 70, on board the MS Maud next to the Christmas display before the ship was hit by the storm Credit: SWNS
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Large waves seen from the window of the MS Maud which left the ship agroundCredit: SWNS
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Scenes of the damage inside the MS Maud cruiser after it was hit by a storm on December 21 Credit: SWNS
The couple is aboard the MS Maud, a Norwegian cruise ship that takes tourists along shores where larger, traditional boats cannot reach.
The ship sailed from Tilbury Docks on December 9, but ran into rough waters on December 21 and lost engine power, along with all navigational equipment.
Brian says he saw the waves come up to their cabin window even though he was on the fifth floor and said he saw water flowing down the corridors.
MS Maud cut her tour short to avoid the storm, but strong winds caught up with her, causing high waves that wiped out the ships power.
The pair are still on the cruise ship but are towing back to Bremerhaven where they will aim to return to the UK in time for Christmas.
Brian, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, said: “We thought we’d be here for Christmas.
“At one stage they were preparing rescue boats.
“We set sail on December 9, we were supposed to finish today (23).
“The cruise had to be cut short because they had to go through a storm. We spent many hours without power.
“We talked to the police and they estimated that the waves were 15 to 20 meters high.
“The waves were coming up to our window on the fifth deck. We were concerned when water came in through the door.
“My wife was so calm, she was helping that lady.
“She fixed it. We were worried if we would be here for Christmas, we didn’t know what was going to happen. We lost power to the engines.
“We have lost all communications and navigation. The captain is in the salon. A fishing boat came from the side and was trying to help with communication.
“The gingerbread house was overturned. The table was broken. Chairs and tables on the floor were damaged.
“Fortunately, only one person was injured. She had a baby in her arms, but she flew away.
“The captain had to move the bridge to the passenger lounge because three windows were blown out by the wave.
“The ship is operated from the engine room. Along with the navigation is the rescue ship.”
Brian and his wife Carole now have to return to Hamburg at 3am on Sunday for an early morning flight to Frankfurt and then finally back to the UK.
The couple will land at Heathrow at 3.45pm on Christmas Eve but worry they won’t make it back to their son’s home in time for Christmas.
The dad-of-four added: “Apart from the drama, we actually enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.
“We have never been on a cruise ship before. I would definitely go on one again, the crew was fantastic.
“It went in and went around all the passages in Norway and all the little places where the big cruise ships can’t go.
“We have to fly from Hamburg at 10am tomorrow morning. Then from Frankfurt to Heathrow at 3.45pm, then to Tilbury to collect the car and then to Worcestershire.
“We knew a storm was coming, we just didn’t know it would be this bad.”
It came after a huge wave engulfed a cruise ship full of Britons and sent passengers flying during a fierce storm off the British coast.
A passenger managed to capture the dramatic moment in which a terrifying wave of freaks is seen crashing into a luxury cruise ship.
An unnamed passenger told the Daily Mail: “I was showing the camera from the bridge on the TV to try to stop the vertigo and I randomly decided to film it!
“As soon as the wave hit, the TV screen went black and the ship’s distress signal went off, so I knew something was wrong.”
They added that they expected it to be a “rough ride” after encountering several other big waves beforehand.
According to passengers, people, fixed tables and chairs were sliding on the floor.
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Passengers in life jackets lean on chairs aboard MS MaudCredit: SWNS
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Storm Pia battered a Norwegian cruise ship and left passengers stranded in the middle of the North Sea, causing damage inside the vesselCredit: SWNS
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education