A 38 year old cruise ship operating from the Port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina, started leaking fuel and taking on water after hitting a rock on December 04. This happened while the ship was passing through the Gerlache Strait and the ship was adrift in Guillermina Bay.
Though the vessel was not in danger of sinking, the passengers were required to be rescued. The ship was on cruise to Antarctica and islands in the icy waters of the South Atlantic. The ship was carrying 14 Danish passengers, 12 Americans, 11 Australians, 9 Germans, 7 Argentines, 7 British, 6 Chinese, 6 Spaniards, 5 Swiss, 3 Italians, 3 French, 2 Canadians, 2 from Ireland, a Belgian and a passenger from New Zealand.
Immediately on receiving the distress call, Chilean Navy’s Transport Vessel AP41 Aquiles reached the area and safely rescued all the 112 passengers and the crew on December 05. All rescued were taken to Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva naval Antarctic base of Chile.
The Chilean Navy’s Fleet Tug Vessel ATF Lautaro is on stand by near the abandoned Ushuaia cruise ship to prevent any environmental damage from leaking fuel.
It may be recalled that MV Explorer sank off Antarctica on November 23, 2007 and all passengers and crew of 154 were rescued by a Norwegian cruise ship, the Nordnorge.
Here are the photographs of Chilean Navy’s Transport Vessel AP41 Aquiles.
Here are the photographs of Chilean Navy’s Fleet Tug Vessel ATF Lautaro
All the above photographs are from Chilean Navy.
Read more about the rescue operation from The Independent.
Post in MarineBuzz on this day a year before:
Research Vessel Polarstern on 24th Scientific Voyage to Antarctica
Update: December 06
The cruise ship MV Ushuaia had left the port of Ushuaia on November 30, for an 11-day wildlife expedition around the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. After running aground, the cruise ship sent out distress call via Inmarsat C. Read more from Inmarsat.
Here is the photograph of MV Ushuaia from Welcomeargentina.
The cruise ship is
- 84.8 metre long
- has a 15.5 metre beam
- has 5.6 metre draft
- has cruising speed of 13,5 knots.
She can navigate for 42 days, or a total distance of 13,000 miles, without any need for a bunkering stop.
Read more about MV Ushuaia, from Welcomeargentina.
Update: December 08
Chilean Navy’s Fleet Tug Vessel ATF Lautaro has successfully refloated the cruise ship MV Ushuaia on the early hours on December 08 and the cruise ship is sailing on her own with her 33 crew. Read more from PR-Inside.
Also read more about grounding of MV Ushuaia in Antarctica from ASOC here and here.
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A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship’s amenities are part of the experience. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, accounting for U.S.$27 billion with over 18 million passengers carried worldwide [1] in 2010. The industry’s rapid growth has seen nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele. Smaller markets such as the Asia-Pacific region are generally serviced by older tonnage displaced by new ships introduced into the high growth areas. Cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port. In contrast, dedicated transport oriented ocean liners do “line voyages” and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Some cruise ships also engage in longer trips which may not lead back to the same port for many months (longer round trips).
Traditionally, an ocean liner for the transoceanic trade will be built to a higher standard than a typical cruise ship, including stronger plating to withstand ocean voyages, most commonly crossing the North Atlantic. The only dedicated transatlantic ocean liner in operation as a liner, as of September 2009, is the Queen Mary 2 of the Cunard fleet. The liner Queen Mary is in service as a hotel in Long Beach, USA, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is slated for similar duty in Cape Town, and the United States is currently stored in Philadelphia, USA, with long-standing plans to return it to service, although this appears increasingly unlikely given its age and condition. Some former ocean liners currently operate as cruise ships, however this number is ever decreasing. The MS Marco Polo is an example.