Navigation system failure disrupts 800 day-cruise passengers’ trips

A technical fault in the navigation system of the Viking Grace ferry forced the vessel to skip its scheduled stop in Åland on Saturday, affecting around 800 passengers, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports.

The ferry, en route from Stockholm to Turku, was unable to dock in Åland due to the malfunction, which required the navigation system to be reset. Communications director Christa Grönlund confirmed the issue caused no danger to passengers but disrupted travel plans, particularly for those on day-cruise packages.

Approximately 700 of the affected passengers were Finnish, while 100 were Swedish. Most were travelling on the Viking Glory, which had departed from Turku; these passengers were unable to return directly from Åland and instead had to continue to Stockholm before heading back.

The Viking Grace paused for about two hours near Kapellskär while the fault was resolved. Grönlund stated that compensation claims are now being processed on a case-by-case basis, with affected passengers required to apply rather than receiving automatic payments.