Antarctic Cruise Ship Freed by High Tides

by Kraig Becker on

The Antarctic cruise ship M/V Ocean Nova, the ship that ran aground yesterday, has been freed from the rocks by the high tide, and is now steaming back to Ushuaia, Argentina for inspection. High winds and pushed the vessel, which was carrying 106 passengers and crew, onto the rocks in Marguerite Bay, off the Antarctic Peninsula.

Before departing the area, divers inspected the Ocean Nova and found no evidence of damage to the hull. According to updates from Quark Expeditions, the company that operates the cruise ship, video of the hull was examined by maritime experts who declared it safe to get underway. If the vessel passes inspection, as expected, it will begin its next voyage on the 22nd of February.

Meanwhile, all of the passengers that were aboard the ship were transferred to another vessel, the M/V Adventure Clipper, yesterday and were also en route back to Ushuaia. No one was injured in the incident, and everyone is said to be in good spirits despite the interruption to their vacation.

Fortunately there doesn’t seem to have been any environmental damage done to the region either. Since the hull was not breached, there was no leaking of fuel or other contaminants, and the fragile Antarctic environment appears to have been left unscathed by this most recent accident. Patrick Shaw, the President of Quark Expeditions is quoted as saying, “We are grateful that no environmental damage occurred and that all travelers who were aboard Ocean Nova are safe.”

Argentine cruise ship runs aground on iceberg near Antarctica

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Imagine you are an entrepreneur who runs a cruise ship company offering tours of Antarctica. You ferry people down to one of the world’s last remote continents, running your vessel and its passengers through some of the roughest waters on earth.

Now imagine that your Antarctica-bound cruise ship encounters a freakishly out of place iceberg (icebergs near the South Pole? No way!) and suddenly runs aground, stranding the vessel and 89 of its passengers in the middle of the ocean.

This exact scenario came to pass on the Argentine cruise ship Ushuaia this past Thursday just off the Antarctic peninsula of Wilhelmina Bay, according to the BBC. Though no passengers were hurt by the collision, the ship was said to be leaking fuel into the surrounding ocean. Passengers were eventually rescued by a ship from the Chilean Navy.

According to the piece, tourism to Antarctica has risen five-fold in the last 15 years, as travelers look to get that increasingly exotic “notch in their belt” and visit one of the world’s last unspoiled destinations. However, the sort of iceberg collision that plagued the Ushuaia is a “chilling” reminder that a visit to Antarctica is not without its hazards, both for tourists and for the environment of Antarctica itself. Ships and passengers are confronted with rough seas, chilling temperatures and a shifting obstacle course of icebergs. Not to mention the fragile environment and wildlife that calls Antarctica home which is threatened by the increasing tourism to the continent.

As more and more visitors head south to check out Antarctica, these sorts of environmental concerns are increasingly aggravated. Make sure if you’re considering a visit you investigate your vessel/tour company thoroughly before booking, and that they are taking care to ensure a safe and environmentally responsible visit.

Australian cruise ship mistakes tuna fishermen for pirates

by Josh Lew on

Everyone was on edge aboard the MV Athena as it passed through the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday night, local time. The gulf has become a hot spot for pirate activity. Earlier in the week a large cruise ship on its way from Rome to Singapore, outran pirates after they opened fire from their skiffs. So when a group of boats surrounded the Athena, the captain ordered passengers off the deck as crew members prepared for the worst. The captain reported to the relevant authorities that 30 boats had surrounded his vessel.

However, no shots were fired and no attempts to board were made. That’s probably because the “pirates” were actually not pirates at all. They were fishermen in search of tuna. A spokesperson from Classic International Cruises Australia, the company that owns the Athena, explained the situation.

“The captain followed all security measures as far as readiness on board for any eventuality by placing fire hoses around the decks and continually liaised with all authorities. It has been confirmed that the approaching small ships were a tuna fishing fleet.”

See the world’s largest cruise ship (again)

by David Breisch on

Man, it seems like just a couple years ago that Royal Caribbean took home the “world’s largest cruise ship” award (oh, wait, it was.) Well, they’re at it again, with construction of the new Oasis-class of cruise ships. Ships, in case you didn’t know, are measured by their gross tonnage. Back in 2006, Royal Caribbean held the aforementioned title with the Freedom of the Seas, which weighed in at 160,000 gross tons. And actually, I went on a cruise in (if I recall correctly) 2001 on a Royal Caribbean ship called Voyager of the Seas, which at the time was billed as the “world’s largest cruise ship.”

Well, kids, they’re at it again, only this time the ship – the Oasis of the Seas – weighs in at 222,900 tons. That’s a horrifying 39% bigger than the Freedom, in case you didn’t feel like doing the math yourself. (Well, horrifying depending on your point of view, I suppose.) Now, Royal Caribbean has a lot of practice with this whole “biggest ship” thing, and as is typical with a new launch, they’re debuting a number of “firsts at sea” on-board amenities. There’s Central Park, a six-deck-tall open-air atrium. The Boardwalk features a full-sized carousel. The Sports Deck has pools, basketball and volleyball courts, a rock climbing wall and a mini-golf course. And, oh yeah, there’s apparently a zip-line ride over the Boardwalk.

Now, I’m not as opposed to cruises as other Gadling bloggers, but this is a pretty ridiculous ship.

Ocean liner QE2 on its last voyage, this time to Dubai

by Jamie Rhein on

For anyone who would like the experience of a luxury ocean liner vacation without actually leaving land, here are two options.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 has hit forty and is being retired. Instead of ending up in some boat graveyard somewhere like Jeremy has written about in a previous post, the QE2 is on its way from New York City [via Great Britain] to Dubai where it will become a hotel.

The Queen Mary, another retired Cunard ocean liner is already a hotel in Long Beach, California.

If you do stay on the QE2, you’ll be on a ship that has seen some history and mighty fine company. According to this msnbc.com article, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope and Britain’s royal family including Princess Diana have sailed on this vessel.

It was also used to transport wounded soldiers during the Falkland’s War in 1982.

For its last voyage, some of the passengers are folks from the first voyage. Just imagine what a great time they must be having right about now.

In 2010 Cunard is rolling out another luxury liner. The Queen Elizabeth will be even grander than its sea worthy sisters.