Pacific Spirit Marine Institute
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The MS Explorer is sunk. It didn’t take very long for her to go down either; less than 24 hours after she hit some ice and began taking on the frigid waters of Antarctica, she had disappeared from sight.
According to the Associated Press Chilean navy vessels lost sight of the Canadian owned MS Explorer. “Our units in the area aren’t seeing anything” “The Explorer is not visible any longer.”
This isn’t the first time this year that a ship has been in distress in Antarctica. Last February the Nisshin Maru, the Japanese whaling factory ship caught fire, and was dead in the water for 10 days. The Norwegian cruise ship MS Nordkapp ran aground off a a small island in Antartica.
The Nisshin Maru lost one crew. Fire on the whale meat canning ship was steeped in controversy and accusations of terrorism and sabotage. Luckily there was only the loss of one human soul in 3 potentially horrific incidents. All these incidents took place in 9 months leads me to question the sanity of ‘tourism’ in one of the most ecologically precarious places on the planet. 9 months is really a misrepresentation when November to April are the accessible months in the Antarctic.
The fact that ship emissions represent a major portion of global nitrogen and sulfur, both known to contribute to global climate changes, it’s makes no sense to beef up the emissions in Antarctica buy hauling in ship load after ship load of tourists compounding emissions in this vulnerable area.
Emissions aside, accidents just such as the one that befell the Explorer today are environmental disasters waiting to happen. This ship was rated 1A1 ice A with a double hull. What good did that do her?
PSMI at this time doesn’t know how much fuel and what type of fuel the MS Explorer was burning. We’ll try to find more information as the night progresses.
In the mean time…Things aren’t adding up for me.
Labels: Antarctic, Climate Change, Cruise Ships, Global Warming, MS Explorer, Nisshin Maru, Sinking
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Antarctica Takes An Environmental Bullet, the 3rd fired in 9 months. MS Explorer Sinks!
Friday, November 23, 2007
Lloyd’s List has discovered that the vessel had 5 deficiencies at its last inspection including missing search and rescue plans and lifeboat maintenance problems.
YIKES!
Watertight door described as ‘not required’, and fire safety measure also attracted criticism.
The M/S Explorer is said to be equipped with an ice hardened double hull. This ice hardened double hull has an ice rating of 1A1 ice A. This fact seems to be a safety selling point but, it didn’t do much good protecting her early this morning. The Explorer also brings along a large fleet of clean 4-stroke burning engined Zodiacs.
The Maritime Coastguard Agency is reporting 152 passengers and crew have been rescued by Endeavour, and the MS Nordnorge will collect passengers.
Quoting the GAP adventures website, “A voyage aboard the G.A.P. Adventures’ M/S Explorer is an expedition in the truest sense of the word.”
Indeed! An adventure to be sure, 100 + passengers being transferred to Norweigian Ship ‘Nordnorge’ may be thinking they have just escaped the expedition from hell. With water temperatures of 30 degrees F. and 23 degree air temps, being aboard a sinking ship, in one of the most remote locations of earth, isn’t an adventure for which any right thinking adventurer would want to pay.
It’s interesting to note that GAP Adventures is a member of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, but the IAATO issues only safety ‘guidelines’. There are no legal requirements to adhere to the guidelines.
Susan Hayes, Gap Adventures is reporting that the Cruise Ship ‘Explorer’ is taking on water, it’s listing at 40 degrees, at the moment but, it isn’t sinking. Hayes was spinning a very loose weave when she told CNN news in a phone interview that the ship had not hit an iceberg.
Hayes said the ship started taking on water at 3:00 AM GMT., she also said that the Explorer did not hit an iceberg.
Ah, it’s a delicate balance trying to avoid looking just incompetent as opposed to just inadequate. The feeling that this top notch rating of 1A1 ice A double hulled ship could be adequate protection against ‘hole’s the size of a fist’ made by as Hayes says ‘a piece of ice’ is certainly what the GAP website seems to imply. Even the Titanic was not impervious to an Ice Berg, but remember the word coming from GAP is, the Explorer didn’t hit an iceberg, but a piece of ice.
So much for 1A1 ice A ratings.
The Explorer is said to be the first expedition ship ever constructed, and not converted from a freighter or research vessel, therefore she was specifically designed for challenging environments.
The orange spot is the current location of the Explorer.
Naturally it would be bad for business if the ship just actually ran into an iceberg, on the other hand how much confidence can be instilled in, adventurers if the ship sinks from a hole the size of a fist? As Hayes said the ship did not hit an iceberg.
Video clip shows the Explorer clearly in trouble. The environmental impact is not being discussed at this time. The Explorer may not sink. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Photo thanks www.bt.no
Labels: Antartic, Explorer, Lloyds List, Nordnorge, Sinking
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Ship Sinking In Antarctica has 1A1 ice A rating, and a double hull! Collision with ice creats GAP in Explorer!
