Aussies OK after iceberg sinking

Monday 03 December 2007 9:06:36 am

A CRUISE ship said to be dogged by maintenance woes slammed into an iceberg off Antarctica today, and other ships rushed to rescue more than 150 people including some Australian passengers, all of whom were doing well, officials said.

"They are in good condition. There is no hypothermia; they all have food and clothes. Everything is OK," the captain of the Norwegian ship that carried out the rescue operation, Arnvid Hansen, said by phone.

"Everybody is OK. The operation is not finished, so we are not giving more information," at this time, he said.

The 100 passengers - including 13 Americans and people from Britain, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands – and most of the 54 crew from the MS Explorer were picked up safely after the Titanic-style accident on the frigid seas near the South Shetland islands, officials from international coast guard and navy services said.

The captain and another senior officer stayed on board the Liberian-registered Explorer but it was not immediately known if it would sink, the officials said. But problems with the ship's safety record were immediately highlighted.

Susan Hayes, vice-president of marketing for Gap Adventures, which ran the tour, said the rescued passengers and crew of the 2400-tonne ship were transferred to another ship in the area.

"I don't have all the details yet of how the accident actually occurred," she said, but "the ship encountered ice and the result was a hole about the size of a fist. And a crack through which water began leaking in, but the pumps were managing it quite effectively for quite awhile, which allowed us to do a calm evacuation.

"Everyone is safe and accounted for," she said, noting that among those on board were 12 Canadians: 10 passengers and two crew.

In terms of the fate of the ship, Hayes said "they actually had several hours while the pumps were pumping the water from the bilge and maintaining it ... (but) at this point it's listing. About 30 degrees. ... We're not quite sure what the prognosis is yet."

A Chilean navy captain, Rodrigo Vattuone, told CNN a distress signal was raised at 12.54am local time (1454 AEDT). The ship was near King George Island, where Chile has its Teniente Marsh base.

"The Liberian-flagged cruise ship Explorer, at 0334 GMT (1434 AEDT), hit an iceberg near San Carlos island, in the (Antarctic region) Chilean area of search and rescue responsibility," said Chilean navy Commander Felipe Gracia.

Most passengers were evacuated and taken aboard a Norwegian ship called the Nordnorge. Another ship, the National Geographic Endeavour, also helped in the rescue effort, he said.

Another spokesman earlier had said the ship was listing at 25C.

Weather in the area is relatively good, with the Antarctic heading from late spring into summer. The average temperature is about -5C, officials said.

Cruise ships regularly take passengers to the remote region to view icebergs and other Antarctic natural features at this time of year.

But the specialist Lloyds List maritime publication said the Explorer had five "deficiencies" at its last inspection, including problems with a watertight door.

The ship also had lifeboat maintenance problems and missing search and rescue plans, according to a report on Lloyds' website.

Watertight doors were described as "not as required", and the fire safety measures were also criticised, it said, citing an inspection done by Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency in May this year.

Chilean port inspectors also found six deficiencies during an inspection in Puerto Natales in March, including two related to navigation matters, it said.

In August, 17 British tourists and a Russian sailor were injured when a cruise ship, the Aleksey Maryshev, was hit by falling pieces of iceshelf in the Arctic.

It was carrying nearly 50 passengers and 19 crew.

Source News.com.au
By Cesar Illiano in Buenos Aires

November 24, 2007 03:15am