- STOCKHOLM: A passenger ferry with nearly 1,000 people on board has returned safely to the Stockholm harbor after having broken free from heavy ice that had trapped it for hours in the Baltic Sea off Sweden's east coast.
Dozens of other ships and boats had also been stuck as gale-force winds built up large ice masses along the Swedish coastline.
Ice breakers helped release the ferry Amorella at the edge of an archipelago north of Stockholm. Rescue helicopters and military hovercraft had been placed on standby to evacuate passengers if needed. No one was injured.
Sea rescue spokeswoman Christel Englund said the ferry arrived in the port early Friday.
The Swedish Maritime Administration said the Amorella had 753 passengers and 190 crew on board.