Date:
23 November 2007
Although cruise ship accidents are few and far between certainly they still do happen. One of the most recent of all occurred in November 2007 in Antarctic Ocean. The MS Explorer, which is operated by GAP Adventures from Canada, required all passengers and crew to be evacuated after hitting ice.
These kinds of cruises have become extremely popular in recent years especially for those people looking for a vacation with a difference. But even though those on board the MS Explorer had to spend up to 6 hours in lifeboats before they were rescued by another Cruise liner in the area they all survived.
The biggest problem that these people faced whilst waiting for the Norwegian cruise liner to come to their assistance was keeping warm. The reason for this was that the passengers had not had sufficient time to dress in appropriate clothing. Unfortunately the accident occurred in the middle of the night when they were sleeping.
Upon being picked up by he Nordnorge (Norwegian Cruise Liner) many of the passengers in the lifeboats were found huddled together dressed either in pyjamas or very light clothing. All they had to help prevent them from losing to much body heat was the thermal blankets in which they were wrapped.
It was only after the MS Explorer had sunk and the accident was reported around the world that other issues relating safety also came to light. It was found that prior to the liner setting off on this cruise there are were 11 different deficiencies that were meant to have been dealt with.
Some of the main deficiencies discovered when an inspection of the cruise liner was carried out included some of the following:-
1. There were search and rescue plans missing.
2. The maintenance of the lifeboats on the MS Explorer were not as sufficient as they should be.
3. Also during the inspection it was found that the watertight doors on the liner were not of a standard as would be expected.
Yet even though these issues were highlighted during various inspections the company that owned MS Explorer stated that these had all been dealt with. So prior to the cruise liner taking its passengers on this ill-fated voyage it had been fully certified in October 2007 for sailing once more.
But as previously mentioned in this article the cruise ship accident we mention above is only one of a very few that have occurred since people have chosen to take such vacations. In many cases you can have a great holiday visiting some of the places that you would normally be unable to see if you were to travel by land.
If you prefer land instead of sea, take a look at our holiday homes and holiday cottages throughout the world.
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