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It was inevitable… [Another] tourist ship in trouble in the Antarctic. The article has some factual problems, but basically a ship appears to have hit something and they’re taking on water. Take a look at the photo on the story, the ship is listing really bad.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071123/ts_nm/cruiseliner_coastguard_dc_9
I’m just thankful that rescue was close at hand, nobody was hurt, and it wasn’t one of those monster cruise ships (1000+ passengers). In case the URL above disappears or has problems, here’s the first few paragraphs of the story:
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – More than 150 passengers and crew escaped unhurt after their cruise ship hit ice in the Antarctic and started sinking on Friday, the ship’s owner and coast guard officials said.
A Norwegian passenger boat in the area safely picked up all the occupants of the Explorer from the lifeboats they used to flee the ship when it ran into problems off King George Island in Antarctica at 12:24 a.m. EST, the Explorer’s owners said.
A spokesman for Gap Adventures, the Canadian travel company that owns the vessel, said 154 passengers and crew had been on board the ship. He had told Reuters earlier the number was 100.
“We were passing through ice as usual.. we do that every day … But this time something hit the hold and we got a little leakage downstairs,” the Explorer’s first officer Peter Svensson told Reuters Television by satellite phone from the Norwegian ship, the Nordnorge.
He said the rescue had gone smoothly. “No one was hysterical, they were just sitting there nice and quiet, because we knew there were ships coming.”
The passengers and crew were being taken to Chile’s Eduardo Frei base in the Antarctic from where they would later be flown to Punta Arenas in southern Chile, a Chilean navy commander told local television.
I love that quote, ‘a little leakage downstairs’. Such wonderful Norwegian understatement. The ship is listing 23 degrees. Must have been a helluva growler they hit. Or a rock.
I like the other statement too. “… the ship when it ran into problems off King George Island in Antarctica ” .
I think it ran into one problem and that was an iceberg.
If the leak was small and they had time on their sides…I wonder if any of the crew was trained to plug little leaks?
Good news though that all crew and passengers were not hurt and are safe. That is all that matters. Glad the weather was good also.
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