According to the Swedish Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), there were 900 people aboard the Amorella and 84 on the Finnfellow. It said that the passengers were in no immediate danger. The Finnfellow proceeded on its way Thursday evening, and the Amorella was released from its icy grip later in the night.

The centre says the mishap occurred at 4.40 pm Finnish time, when heavy ice pushed them together amid winds of 15-20 metres per second. It occurred between the Tjärven lighthouse and the mouth of the Furusund inlet which leads in to Stockholm.

The 170-metre Amorella was built in 1988. It can carry nearly 2500 passengers and 450 cars. The Swedish-flagged Finnfellow, built in 2000 in Spain, is owned by Finnlines and operated by Finnlink.

Immediately after the accident there was discussion of evacuating the ships, but this idea was abandoned.

Severe ice and wind have been causing trouble all week for ship traffic between Turku and Stockholm. On Tuesday this week, Icebreakers had to help the Rosella, which was stuck in the ice.

Delays All Day

Heavy ice had already delayed passenger ferry traffic between Finland and Sweden on Thursday. For instance the Viking Isabella, due to arrive in Turku in the evening from Långnäs in the Åland Islands, was several hours behind schedule.

Viking Line has cancelled several sailings between Åland's capital, Mariehamn, and Kapellskär, a port near Norrtälje, about 80 kilometres north of Stockholm, and has changed the route of ships plying the Turku-Stockholm route. It says its ships on the Helsinki-Turku route have remained on schedule.

On Thursday afternoon, there were a total of five vessels stuck in the ice near Stockholm.

Ships operated by Tallink and Finnlink also had trouble with the ice earlier Thursday. Icebreakers helped the Sea Wind ferry get from Turku to Stockholm as well as the Estonia-bound passenger-freight carrier Regal Star.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued warnings for near-gale force winds of 14 to 16 m/s on all parts of the Baltic west of Finland, as well as a warning for moderate ice accretion on vessels in the Northern Baltic.