Cruise Ship Ocean Nova Runs Aground In Antarctic
Yet another Antarctic cruise ship runs aground. On February 17, 2009, M/V Ocean Nova grounded at position 68° 08’ S, 67°06’ W, in Marguerite Bay, west of Debenham Island, approximately two kilometers from the Argentine research station San Martin.
There was no imminent danger, leakage or threat to lives, but as a precaution, Captain Per Gravesen issued a distress signal, which was recognized by the Argentine emergency services. The vessel has 105 people on board - 65 passengers and 41 crew, including ship’s staff. 21 Americans are on board.
Patrick Shaw, president of Connecticut based Quark Expeditions which owns the Ocean Nova, said that, “The experience of Captain Per Gravesen and his crew and the special construction of the vessel, which was built for polar waters, have played a significant role in ensuring the safety of our guests during this incident.”
All guests aboard M/V Ocean Nova were then transferred to M/V Clipper Adventurer, which is now on its way to Ushuaia, Argentina for disembarkation. Here’s a blog post by one of the people abroad the Clipper Adventurer.
The Ocean Nova got dislodged in the evening tide and is no longer aground. No damage or leaking, and no environmental damage has been reported.
This is the third Antractic cruise ship in the last year or so to run into problems in frigid and dangerous waters. In December 2008, the cruise ship Ushuaia ran aground 300 kilometres southwest of Argentina’s Marambio military base on the Antarctic Peninsula. In Nov 2007, the Explorer (owned by Gap Adventures) collided with an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands, south of Argentina and went down in 20 hours.
Why can’t these people just enjoy cruises and vacations in Alaska? It’s just as cold, and has plenty of wildlife and frigid waters. And in case your ship goes down, it’s much easier to recover in the comfy heat of the motels in Anchorage, than on a desolate slab of ice in the middle of the Antarctic.
Photo by ScottWilson via flickr (creative commons).
Posted on February 19th, 2009 by Thomas
Filed under: News
Alaska - are you kidding . . . boring.
There is nothing like Antarcitca . A few minor incidents are what makes the trip an adventure. Not for the “granny” set!
No one wanted to curtail Atlantic crossings after the Titanic. Besides, look at all the great Titanic movies made following the sinking.
Mike Madonna, Blue Bell, PA
Noble sentiments, Michael. Very adventourous. So I’m guessing you’ll still feel the same when you’re seconds away from freezing to death, and watching the oil slick kill all the penguins and seals which you were photographing a few minutes before your ship went down.