A passenger ferry carrying around 60 people that had been stranded off Germany's North Sea island of Heligoland due to a technical defect has reached the mainland port of Cuxhaven after several hours adrift, authorities said.
The vessel, the Funny Girl, arrived in Cuxhaven on Saturday evening, a spokesman for the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) told dpa.
The ferry had been unable to manoeuvre about five kilometres off Heligoland after suffering a technical defect, according to police.
The DGzRS deployed a rescue cruiser to assist the vessel. However, authorities said conditions made it impossible to tow the ferry directly to Heligoland.
Instead, a decision was taken to tow the disabled vessel, with all passengers on board, to Cuxhaven. Two tugboats were involved in the operation, with strong westerly winds complicating the rescue effort.
The ferry had departed Büsum on Saturday morning on its regular route to Heligoland, Germany's only offshore island. The journey typically takes around two and a half hours, depending on weather and currents.
According to the operator Adler & Eils, the vessel will now undergo technical inspection in Cuxhaven to determine the cause of the failure. Alternative travel arrangements were made for passengers both on board and waiting on Heligoland.
Ferry services between Büsum and Heligoland were suspended for Sunday and Monday. It remained unclear when operations would resume.
