holed by an iceberg

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

MORE than 20 British passengers are among 154 people forced to abandon a cruiseliner sinking in the Antarctic Ocean.

The captain and first officer gave the order to leave the MV Explorer after it was holed by an iceberg. They were the only men to remain on board.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have not had any reports of anyone seriously injured. We are in contact with all the relevant authorities.




"We are still monitoring the situation closely and will provide full consular assistance as necessary."


The collision, which caused a small hole in one of the cabins of the Canadian-owned, Liberian-flagged vessel, occurred early this morning in temperatures of about minus 5C.


Owner G.A.P. Adventures, based in Toronto, said the MV Explorer "hit ice" in the Bransfield Strait off King George Island, Antarctica, at 5.24am.


It added that all passengers and crew were safe and uninjured.




The company went on: "Standard procedures were followed by the crew with passengers calmly evacuated to the ship's life rafts and then transferred to the NordNorge, which was in the area."

G.A.P. Adventures said all the crew had now been transferred on to the NordNorge.


UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman Mark Clark said: "The vessel is in a poor way and its listing is getting worse."


The 2,400-tonne vessel set out from the port of Ushuaia on Argentina's southern tip on November 11 for a 19-day trip through the Drake Passage.


The Falmouth Coastguard in Cornwall joined US and Argentinian authorities in co-ordinating the rescue.


Four US vessels were in the vicinity at the time and sailed to offer assistance, with the rescue being run by staff at the US naval base at Norfolk, Virginia.


The Explorer is one of the best-known specialist cruise ships in the world.


It pioneered the market for Antarctic tours, which also take in South Atlantic highlights such as the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.


One of the British tour companies with whom UK holidaymakers can book trips on the Explorer is Noble Caledonia, based in Belgravia, London.


But its customer relations executive Julian Hartley said today that his company had not booked any Britons on this particular trip.



Abandoned ... MV Explorer

He said: "We have people booked on trips on the MV Explorer for the coming weeks and we are now busy contacting them."


Typically, holidaymakers on the Explorer pay £4,500 per person for a trip that involves flights to and from Buenos Aires and then connecting flights to Ushuaia.


From there, the MV Explorer sails to the Antarctic Peninsula, before returning to Ushuaia.

First the Titanic....and now this? This is a crisis. If only we could find a way to reduce the amount of ice bergs, so we can prevent these tragedies.

[cadalano]

ON THE BEHALF OF AMERICA, I DECLARE WAR ON ICEBERGS

[cadalano]

THE ONLY GOOD ICEBERG IS A VERY SMALL ICEBERG IN MY BEVERAGE

[cadalano]

THE CYLINDRICAL KIND SO YOU CANT HURT YOUR TEETH ON THE EDGES

[Drinsic Darkwood]

Obviously we need to promote global warming.

[Nick]

insert bad joke about climate change being a good thing

[Animale]

Just wondering what your point was here Midnight... or if it was just a troll attempt?

Animale

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

Just wondering what your point was here Midnight... or if it was just a troll attempt?

Animale

It's called a joke. Maybe global warming has melted your sense of humor.

[Kaldaur]

Zing!

[Nick]

I know you two are preparing for an almighty session of bumsex in Las Vegas but there's no need to start laughing at his unfunny jokes just yet Kalduar (wait until you become a little more emotionally attached at least).

[Boogahz]

but it was funny

Animale even recognized that it was trolling when he responded!

[Kaldaur]

I'm just warming up on him until you move here, Nick.

Zing!

Or, how about this: don't be so cold on our love?

Zing!