Viking Cruises, which owns the cruise ship Viking Sky, granted NOK 1 million to the Rescue Company (Life Saving First Aid-Redningsselskapet) and the Red Cross as a thank you for the effort during a rescue operation in March.
The gift from Viking Ocean Cruises and chairman of the board, Torstein Hagen, are given after their efforts during the rescue of the cruise ship, Viking Sky, in March.
‘’We are very grateful for this gift from Viking Cruises. The funds allow us to focus more on equipment and training within the concept of mass evacuation.
We will train our own personnel so that we are even better equipped to cope with these type of events in the future” said General Secretary, Rikke Lind of Redningsselskapet.
Viking Sky’s motors stopped at Hustadvika at 14.00 on Saturday 23 March.
The Lifeboats, Erik Bye and Mærsk were on standby while the evacuation of the cruise ship took place.
Cruise shipowner, Torstein Hagen, said that all the volunteers and public contributions enabled passengers, crew, and ships come to port in relatively good condition.
‘’The honour for that is shared by many, and I will always be grateful that the Redningsselskapet, with RS Erik Bye and RS Mærsk in place at Hustadvika, ready to help’’ said Hagen.
The Red Cross also got a million from Hagen.
‘’We greatly appreciate this generous gesture from the owner, Hagen. The funds are both a clear and gratifying acknowledgment of the efforts of our
200 volunteers, and a great grant that will benefit us in our emergency response’’ said Red Cross President, Robert Mood.
There were 1,373 people on board when Viking Sky was rescued. Around 470 passengers were hoisted in helicopters.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
