At 08.30 a.m. (local time), a group of 12 staff members of the cruise vessel MS Bremen went ashore on Phippsøya to prepare a landing for passengers. The group was attacked on land by a polar bear, which did not react to shouting and shooting with signal pistols. The bear attacked a 42 year old German staff member who suffered head injuries. The man was taken to the hospital and later Tromsø, his condition is stable.
The bear was shot by 2 other members of the group and later flown to Longyearbyen by helicopter for investigations.
This is the information which has been released officially. All information which circulates in current public discussions beyond this is speculative.
Polar bear on Phippsøya, a frequently used landing site on Sjuøyane northernmost in Spitsbergen (archive image).
A man was injured by a polar bear today (Saturday, 28 July) on Sjuøyane. The man survived with injuries, the bear was shot, as the Sysselmannen informed today.
The polar bear attacked persons who went ashore from the cruise ship MS Bremen. He is said to be a crew member serving as polar bear guard, preparing a tourist landing. He suffered head injuries; no information has yet been released about serious his injuries are. The man was brought to the hospital in Longyearbyen by helicopter.
The incident will be investigated by the Sysselmannen, but first priority is given to provision of medical care to the injured man.
Polar bear on Phippsøya, a frequently used landing site on Sjuøyane northernmost in Spitsbergen (archive image).
Way 300 in Longyearbyen was closed for all traffic after a landslide close to the cemetary. This road connects Skjæringa (the part of Longyearbyen where church, Sysselmannen etc. are located) and Huset.
The Sysselmannen has now opened Way 300 again for pedestrians and bicyclists. Motorised traffic is not permitted. This is valid until further notice from the Sysselmannen.
On July 2, the traditional shipping company Hurtigruten celebrates its 125th birthday and at the same time gives a present to the environment: From today on Hurtigruten wants to banish all disposable plastic from its ships. No plastic straws, no stirrers in plastic coffee cups, no plastic lids and not a single plastic bag should then be found on the ships.
This is only logical: ship travellers witness the pollution of the oceans with plastic waste every day. Most of the plastic in the oceans comes from fishing, but plastic bottles, plastic bags or other everyday plastic articles also end up on Norway’s beaches by the ton and too often end up in the stomachs of seabirds, fish and whales.
Plastic waste in Mushamna/ Spitsbergen
The ban on disposable plastic articles will be effective across the entire Hurtigruten fleet, i.e. both on the legendary postal ship route from Bergen to Kirkenes, as well as on cruise ships in polar waters and in all land-based facilities and also on Spitsbergen.
Hurtigruten’s ambitious long-term goal is even to become the first plastic-free shipping company in the world. Even if there is certainly still much room for improvement in the cruise ship industry in terms of pollution and CO2 emissions, the ban on disposable plastic is a welcome step in the right direction.
Soon free from diposable plastic: Hurtigruten museumsship in Stokmarksnes