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Thirty to 40 ships — including several passenger ships — were stuck Thursday in ice off the coast of Sweden, said a spokesman for the Maritime Search and Rescue Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. [...]

"It has been a lot colder than normal in the southern parts of the Baltic sea, but in the north all is normal with normal levels of ice," [Tommy Gardebring, press officer with the Swedish Maritime Administration] said. "However, in the worst-affected areas, the ice breakers that normally operate haven't been able to cope with the ice, which is why we are sending additional ice breakers."

The ships are expected to be freed by Friday.