Cruise ship heads south & goes south

Bill Welbourne

You may recall my article 'South to the Antarctic' which appeared in the January 2006 issue of The Mail. In it I mentioned the voyage I took with my son, Tony, to the ice continent in a small 75-metre expedition ship, MS Explorer, fondly known as 'The Little Red Ship'.

This historic polar vessel built in 1969 is no more after hitting an iceberg and sinking last week. Two years on Tony and I missed all the excitement of passengers abandoning ship and being rescued by the Norwegian vessel Nordnorge.

Voice of America reported: “Nordnorge picked up 154 people - all the passengers and crew of the Explorer. The captain of the Norwegian ship said the passengers and crew were cold and wet but in good condition despite spending four hours in icy, windswept seas off the South Shetland Islands. By Friday evening, several hours after the rescue operation was complete, the stricken Explorer disappeared beneath the Antarctic waves.”