Trans woman goes viral tweeting from stranded Viking Sky cruise ship

Mar 25 2019
Written by Josh Jackman

This picture taken on June 28, 2018 shows the cruise ship Viking Sky near Tromso, Norway. - Emergency services said on March 23, 2019 they were airlifting 1,300 passengers off a cruise ship off the Norwegian coast. The Viking Sky cruise ship sent an SOS message due to 'engine problems in bad weather', southern Norway's rescue centre said on Twitter, while police reported the passengers would be evacuated by helicopter. The photo is overlaid with tweets.

The Viking Sky lost all power over the weekend, and one person kept her followers fully updated. (RUNE STOLTZ BERTINUSSEN/AFP/Getty)

Transgender author Alexus Sheppard has gone viral after live-tweeting events as her cruise ship lost power off the coast of Norway.

Sheppard, who lives in California with her wife Deborah, was on board the Viking Sky when its engines failed on Saturday (March 23).

Nearly 500 of the 1,373 occupants were airlifted to safety before the ship was eventually able to make its way to safety on Sunday (March 24).

Sheppard, whose website describes her as a retired dentist who began transitioning in 1998 before writing about her experiences in the 2017 book From Both Sides Now, kept her followers up to date with events on the Viking Sky.

Still waiting for evacuation. #VikingSky #Mayday pic.twitter.com/6EvcAjf5D2

— Alexus Sheppard ️‍ (@alexus309) March 23, 2019

As the drama unfolded around Sheppard, her posts about how the ship and its travellers were coping received thousands of retweets and likes, while her videos were watched millions of times.

In one video, she showed Twitter users the perilous oscillation of the vessel rocked by the strength of the Norwegian sea, the cruise ship’s furniture tossed from side to side. In another video, she recorded the moment when part of the ship’s ceiling fell on a passenger.

Alexus Sheppard tweeted about LGBT+ issues during the Viking Sky crisis

The trans activist regularly posts pro-LGBT+ messages on Twitter, and she didn’t let the Viking Sky’s faulty engines stop her from doing just that.

Alongside her tweets about the crisis, she also managed to find time to post articles praising Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, and trans author Jennifer Finney Boylan.

Viking Sky customer Alexus Sheppard, who went viral tweeting about the cruise ship.

The transgender author’s videos from Viking Sky have been viewed millions of times. (alexus309/twitter)

Sheppard also posted about Dex Frier, a trans student in Georgia who was allegedly told he was not allowed on the prom king ballot at his high school, and that he would have to run as prom queen instead.

She overall kept up a positive attitude despite the difficult situation on board, and eventually reported making it off the ship safely.

“Thank you EVERYONE for your love and support over these difficult two days… It’s times like these that make us ALL stronger as caring human beings.”

— Alexus Sheppard

“Thank you EVERYONE for your love and support over these difficult two days,” Sheppard wrote on Sunday.

“We’re now safely docked in Molde, Norway and have happily been fed and watered. It’s times like these that make us ALL stronger as caring human beings. It does indeed take a village ❤️.”