Five cruise ships gather off Patreksfjord for total eclipse

Nearly 10,000 passengers and crew are aboard five cruise ships positioning themselves off Patreksfjord in Iceland’s Westfjords to view the total solar eclipse, mbl.is reports.

The ships have gathered in similar waters northeast of Patreksfjord, according to MarineTraffic. They are Balmoral, Celebrity Silhouette, Azamara Journey, Bolette and the luxury ship Evrima.

Together, the vessels carry just under 10,000 people. Celebrity Silhouette is the largest, with about 2,900 passengers and 1,280 crew members. Evrima has nearly as many crew as passengers, with 250 crew members and 300 passengers.

The captains will need to search for clear skies, as Icelandic weather could affect visibility during the eclipse. The Icelandic Met Office’s cloud-cover forecast shows a strip of clear sky northwest of the Westfjords at 5pm. By 6pm, it is expected to have narrowed and shifted slightly south, while by 7pm there may no longer be a break in the cloud cover over the Westfjords. A new opening could possibly develop directly west of Breidafjord, however.