Rescuers in the Arctic tried and failed to free a 343-foot luxury cruise ship that's run aground, using a boat that's half its size

• Rescuers tried and failed to dislodge a stuck cruise ship in Greenland with a smaller boat.
• Luxury cruise ship Ocean Explorer ran aground in a remote part of Greenland on Monday.

Rescuers failed to free a luxury cruise that got stuck in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, with a smaller boat on Wednesday.

Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said in a statement on the same day that Tarajoq, a research vessel owned by Greenland's government, had tried to pull the Ocean Explorer cruise ship off the ground at high tide.

The rescue attempt, however, was unsuccessful.

According to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources' website, Tarajoq is used for sea exploration and offshore research.

Tarajoq is roughly 200 feet long, just over half the size of the 343-foot-long Ocean Explorer.

The Ocean Explorer was carrying 206 people when it ran aground and got stuck in a remote part of Greenland on Monday.

"Getting the inspection vessel Knud Rasmussen to the accident site is still the Arctic Command's first priority," the statement said, referring to the Joint Artic Command's closest inspection vessel.

The ship, the Knud Rasmussen, was approximately 1,200 nautical miles away from the Ocean Explorer, per the Joint Arctic Command's statement on Tuesday morning.

"Due to the weather in the area where Knud Rasmussen is, the ship has had to slow down a bit," the Joint Arctic Command said in an update on Wednesday, adding that the ship is expected to arrive on Friday evening.

A representative for Aurora Expeditions, the cruise ship's operator, told Insider that three passengers have COVID-19.

"These passengers are currently in isolation. They are looked after by our onboard doctor, medical team, and crew, and they are doing well," the representative said. "All other passengers, Expedition team, and crew remain safe and healthy."

Passenger Gina Hill told The Guardian, in a story published Wednesday, that people aboard were generally upbeat despite the circumstances.

"No one seems to be afraid, and they're giving us updates quite regularly," she said.