The passengers and crew of the Canadian-owned cruise liner,
The Explorer, were flown to a Chilean military base to spend the night. They
are safe and ready to return to their home countries on Saturday, GAP
Adventures, the company that owned The Explorer announced.
The passengers and the crew were evacuated from The
Explorer, a a 2,400-tonne vessel built in Finland in 1969, after the ship struck
ice in the Antarctic Ocean off the coast of Argentina, near the South Shetland
Islands.
"We were passing through ice as usual. ... But this
time, something hit the hold and we got a little leakage downstairs," the
Explorer's first officer, Peter Svensson, said.
The passengers and crew were first evacuated rigid and
rubber lifeboats and then taken to the Norwegian ship Nordnorge. Then they were
taken to the Chilean Antarctic base Presidente Frei later Friday. On Friday
evening they were waiting to be flown to the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas.
The passengers and the crew were in "good
spirits," the ship's operator Gap Adventures said for BBC.
GAP Adventures Friday said 24 Britons, 14 Americans, 12
Canadians, 10 Australians, 17 Dutch, 4 Irish, 4 Swiss, 2 Belgians, 3 Danes, 1
French, 1 German, 1 Swede, 2 Argentinians, 1 Columbian, 1 Japanese, 1 Chinese
and two people from Hong Kong were aboard the ship.
The 38-year-old ship is owned by GAP adventures, who specialize
in trips to far-flung destinations.
The Explorer was on a 19-day circuit of Antarctica and the Falkland Islands, letting passengers observe penguins,
whales and other wildlife while getting briefings from experts on the region,
according to G.A.P.
“Dubbed "The Little Red Ship", Explorer was
specifically designed for the rigours of expedition travel as well as the safety,
comfort and convenience of her passengers. She was the first expedition ship
ever constructed, not a converted freighter or research vessel. Her compact
size, shallow draft and ice strengthened double hull were specifically designed
for challenging marine environments and exploratory travel while her cabins and
common areas were conceived for passenger comfort and enjoyment.” reads the
presentation of the ship on Gap Adventures site.
During the Explorer's last safety inspection, which took
place in May in Greenock, Renfrewshire, the UK officials from the Maritime and
Coastguard Agency found five deficiencies, including problems with a watertight
door, but according to Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto, the ship
had been issued with a safety certificate as recently as October 21.
According to a Chilean navy press officer, quoted by AP, 20
hours after the incident, The Explorer had gone under completely.
"Our units in the area aren't seeing anything," he
told the AP by telephone. "The Explorer is not visible any longer."
