In November 2007, the MS Explorer, a passenger cruise ship owned by the G.A.P Adventures Cruise Line, sank in the Antarctic Ocean after it struck an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands. The vessel had a total of 154 passengers and crew onboard at the time of its sinking, and miraculously everyone was able to evacuate safely via lifeboats before the ship completely submerged.
The MS Explorer was built in 1969 as a research vessel and was used by various scientific organizations over the years before it was acquired by G.P Adventures in 1991 and converted into a passenger cruise ship. The vessel was specifically designed for polar exploration trips and had become popular with tourists who were looking to take part in Antarctic expeditions.
At approximately 11:00 pm on November 23rd 2007, while travelling near King George Island off the coast of Antarctica, the MS Explorer struck an iceberg that caused irreparable damage to its hull below the waterline. Although crew members attempted to patch up cracks in an effort to save their ship, those efforts were unsuccessful and soon after passengers were asked to board lifeboats and abandon ship. All 154 passengers and crew members were rescued shortly afterwards by nearby Chilean Navy vessels that had been alerted of their distress call.
Investigations into What Caused Sinking
An investigation into what caused the sinking of MS Explorer began shortly after all passengers were rescued safely from their lifeboats. Evidence suggested that when making its approach near King George Island, crew members failed to spot a large iceberg on their radar due to unclear visibility caused by a heavy snowstorm occurring at that time.
Furthermore, investigators also found out that even if they had spotted it on their radar, they would not have been able to manoeuvre around it due to the vessel’s limited turning radius. As such, both conditions ultimately led to the collision with said iceberg which eventually caused its sinking.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the MS Explorer cruise ship sunk in Antarctica’s ocean in November 2007 after it collided with an iceberg due to poor visibility caused by a snowstorm combined with its limited turning radius.
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