"Cruise ship carrying 105 aground in Antarctica
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A cruise ship with 64 passengers and 41 crew members aboard ran aground near an Argentine base in Antarctica on Tuesday, but there were no risks to the people aboard, the Argentine navy and the ship's operator reported. The Bahaman-flagged Ocean Nova ran aground about one mile (two kilometers) from the San Martin base, pushed by "extremely high winds" into craggy rocks, Quark Expeditions president Patrick Shaw told The Associated Press. The Norwalk, Connecticut, company that operates the 240-foot long (73-meter) Danish-built ship said in a news release that "an initial assessment of damage indicated that there was no imminent danger and no threat to lives." "There is no sign of leakage of any kind from the vessel," the company added. Among the passengers and crew were 21 Americans, 18 Filipinos, 17 Britons, seven Canadians, seven Australians, four Germans, five Irish, five South Africans, three Dutch, three New Zealanders, three Danish, two Argentines and one each from Switzerland, Romania, the Ukraine, Panama, Guatemala, Colombia, Russia, Indonesia and Honduras. The passengers were on their eighth day of a nearly two-week expedition exploring the polar circle that embarked from Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost city. Ocean Nova officials informed the San Martin base that the ship should be able to break free on its own as the tide rises. "We're going to take all the passengers off to be extra safe," Shaw said. Inspections of the ship may take some time, and the company wants passengers to be able to continue on their expedition, he said. The Chilean and Argentine navy have dispatched the Spanish-flagged ship Hesperides and another vessel, the Clipper Adventure, to coordinate retrieval of the passengers." from here.

Incident Details
Vessel: M/V Ocean Nova
Date: February 17, 2009
Location: 68° 08’ S, 67°06’ W
Time: 04:30 UTC / 01:30 Local Time

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, Captain Per Gravesen was not able to dislodge M/V Ocean Nova at 16:00 UTC / 13:00 Local Time. The next high tide
will occur at midnight local time (03:00 UTC), when a second attempt will be made. Also, the Spanish naval vessel Hespedrides will be alongside at that time to assist, if necessary. All guests, staff, crew and officers remain safe.

As a contingency, M/V Clipper Adventurer, a Quark vessel, is steaming toward M/V Ocean Nova. Should, M/V Ocean Nova not dislodge with the tide, all passengers aboard will be transferred to this vessel for the return to Ushuaia.

Patrick Shaw, president of Quark Expeditions said “the safety and comfort of our guests are forefront in all our decisions.”

Captain Per Gravesen
Former Danish naval officer, Captain Per Gravesen worked for the Royal Greenland Trade Company as navigator, then ultimately as captain. He brings
almost a quarter-century of polar navigation to M/V Ocean Nova.

Ocean Nova afloat

The 2,183-gt cruise ship Ocean Nova (built 1992) is no longer aground after floating free on a high tide.

“As anticipated the ship came away with the assistance of the late evening high tide,” said ship operator Quark Expeditions.

A video of the hull of Ocean Nova taken during the divers’ inspection prior to the refloating has been reviewed by maritime experts.

“The Ocean Nova has not sustained any damage as a result of the grounding. There has been no leaking of any kind,” Quark added.

The ships' 65 passengers were transferred to the 1,465-dwt cruise ship Clipper Adventurer (built 1972) late on Tuesday.

A further inspection is due to be carried out when the Bahamas-flagged ship returns to port in Ushuaia, Argentina.

Should the inspection confirm the video findings, Quark Expeditions said it will operate the 22 February departure of the Ocean Nova.

This will be a 20-day voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula, with stops in South Georgia and the Falkland Islands.

“We are grateful that no environmental damage occurred and that all travelers who were aboard Ocean Nova are safe,” said Patrick Shaw, president of Quark Expeditions.

The 73 metre long Danish-built and -crewed vessel, which is carrying 105 passengers and crew, ran aground in Antarctica on Tuesday.

The Ocean Nova is not the first cruise ship to have trouble recently in the Antarctica, which has seen a surge in tourist visits.

In December the 1,907-dwt Argentinean adventure cruise ship Ushuaia (built 1970) carrying 122 people ran aground in the area.

A month earlier the 2,398-gt Explorer (built 1969) hit an iceberg and sank hours later. All 154 passengers and crew were rescued.

It is all too clear that after the last 4 incidents in a year that it is simply a matter of time before there is ANOTHER ship sinking but next time it may well take a goodly number of pax with her.

There need to be more strigent rules applied in terms of the ships that are allowed to operate in the region, possibly as follows:

Ship size.
IMHO opinion a 73 metre ship is simply too small to stand what can be VERY dismal and violent weather at almost any time year, likewise 100,000 grt cruise liners with no ice strenghtening or redundant systems and also carrying over 2000 pax are too big. There should be a minimum size, minimum build qualifacations and a maximum number of pax carried. This would also benefit a very fragile environment.

PAX training.
Not just crew training but even pax should receive additional training in order to travel in the area, perhaps just ordinary drills repeated more often during the cruise with some additional information etc included.

While these might reduce the number of people visiting the region no one booking a cruise is expecting to stand a real chance of being killed.

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Originally posted by mike sa:
When will some authority actually do something about these incidents. [...]

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Which authority?

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Originally posted by mike sa:

Ship size.
IMHO opinion a 73 metre ship is simply too small to stand what can be VERY dismal and violent weather at almost any time year, [...]

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Which authority?

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Originally posted by Globaliser:
The same authority that imposes rules such as "no more than 100 pax ashore at any one time". Ultimately, all visiting is done by permission of the Antarctic Treaty Powers.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
But that's not imposed by an authority. It's a voluntary agreement.

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In fact, they could also impose requirements, should voluntary agreement not be forthcoming.

[ 02-24-2009: Message edited by: Globaliser ]

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Originally posted by Globaliser:
What mike sa asked was "When will some authority actually do something ...". The Antarctic Treaty Powers could certainly "do something".

In fact, they could also impose requirements, should voluntary agreement not be forthcoming.

[ 02-24-2009: Message edited by: Globaliser ]

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