When GAP Adventures' Explorer sank in the
Bransfield Strait off King George Island near Antarctica last
month, the first concern was the safety of the 100 passengers and
54 crew members who survived a four-hour wait for help, bobbing in
lifeboats in freezing temperatures.
The second concern
was the impact on the destination, both in terms of the environment
and the economic fallout.
Preliminary
indications are that the sunken ship's fuel tanks, holding nearly
50,000 gallons of marine fuel oil, are not leaking and thus do not
pose an immediate hazard.
It is harder to
know if demand for Antarctic tours will take a downturn.
For GAP Adventures,
however, there is certainly an immediate economic impact. The
Explorer was its first and only ship and, according to CEO Bruce
Poon Tip, it was booked to carry nearly 1,600 passengers on
Antarctic, Arctic and other itineraries through the end of
2008.
"We put out a call"
to other Antarctic operators, said Poon Tip, in the hope that GAP
Adventures passengers would be able to carry out their expeditions
with other operators that might still have available space. The
problem, he said, is that there is little chance of accommodating
everyone, given the small size or availability on other operators'
ships -- five slots here, another 10 there. GAP Adventures will
work to reimburse those who cannot be reassigned, he
said.
As for the
financial loss, including the asset and the future business, Poon
Tip declined to reveal how much GAP Adventures had paid for the
vessel or how much the company had invested in recent
renovations.
But he did say that
although the Antarctica program was important symbolically for the
company, securing its presence on all seven continents, the
Explorer's business accounted for less than 10% of GAP Adventures'
overall volume. The loss of the ship itself, he said, was covered
by insurance.
The sinking of the
Explorer marks the second commercial passenger ship accident in
Antarctica this year. Last season, in January, Norwegian Coastal
Voyage's Nordkapp ran aground when it struck underwater rocks near
Deception Island.
The event did not
create much of a stir in the mass media, but when a pioneer ship
like the Explorer, a veteran of 38 years sailing Antarctic waters,
becomes the first passenger ship ever to sink there, the event
inevitably raises questions about risk. That is particularly true
as the region continues to attract additional ships that have less
experienced staff and pose a greater risk in terms of size and
design.
The exact reason
for the sinking remains something of a mystery. According to
reports, no loud sound or physical impact indicated the ship had
struck submerged ice.
"The first clue to
anything being wrong was water in one of the passenger's cabins,"
said Susan Hayes, vice president of marketing at GAP Adventures.
"They identified a hole in the side of the boat, and initially the
crew thought they could fix it."
According to Hayes,
an emergency call went out at 3:20 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, and
three hours later the order was given to abandon ship. By late
Friday night, the Explorer had sunk.
"I wish we could
retrieve it," said Leif Skog, vice president of marine operations
at Lindblad Expeditions and former captain of the Explorer when it
was owned and operated by Lindblad during the 1970s and 1980s. He
said the industry could learn a lot about how to prevent future
accidents by studying the wreckage.
According to the
International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, nearly
30,000 tourists traveled to Antarctica during the 2006-2007 season.
An additional 6,930 passengers cruised through the region but did
not land. During the 1992-1993 season, by contrast, the National
Science Foundation reported that only 6,704 tourists had visited
Antarctica.
"There's been an
explosion in the last five years," said Skog. "There's a big
concern for [operators] who are going down who are new [to
Antarctica], and they are big [ships]. They don't have all these
years of experience. Antarctica is a dangerous place if you don't
know what you're doing."
Many of the larger
cruise ships that sail in Antarctica are not fortified with double
hulls as the Explorer was.
Antarctic Treaty
nations and IAATO have established guidelines for tourism in the
Antarctic region. For example, IAATO members must abide by the
regulation that ships carrying more than 500 passengers are not
allowed to disembark and are limited to cruising by. Ships carrying
200 to 500 passengers can land but only at certain
sites.
But even by IAATO's
guidelines, large ships with 2,000 or more passengers can cruise
freely through the region's international waters.
"Those ships tend
to sail at the time of year when there's much less ice," said
Denise Landau, executive director of IAATO. "As long as the ships
are sailing at the appropriate time and place, it's safe. This is a
50-year-old industry; it's very safe."
The rise in
tourists, and consequently incidents, in Antarctica has even some
of the larger cruise lines taking a closer look at the
environmental hazards and safety concerns.
"We're sensitive to
all manner of environmental issues," said Mark Flager, vice
president of sales, marketing and passenger services at Discovery
World Cruises.
Discovery takes one
ship to Antarctica, carrying 550 passengers, just above the IAATO
limit for landing. Discovery does take its passengers on land and
therefore operates in Antarctica as a nonmember of IAATO.
Nevertheless, Flager commended IAATO and the Antarctic Treaty
nations for their environmental and safety efforts in the region
and said that for the most part they were working.
The Explorer was
carrying marine gas oil, a lighter fuel than the heavy bunker oil
used by some larger ships. Although investigators are still trying
to assess the potential environmental impact, initial reports
indicate it will likely not be serious.
"As the incident
occurred in open water with an estimated depth of 500 meters, it is
expected that any fuel seepage will disperse promptly with no
adverse effects on the environment," IAATO said in a statement
about the Explorer incident. However, "there is concern regarding
lube oil, plastics and other pollutants," the statement
noted.
And although it
isn't clear who is responsible for cleanup efforts or which
entities are legally liable if there is any serious environmental
damage, the parties involved in the Explorer case appear to be
pitching in to ensure minimal damage.
"We are cooperating
fully," said GAP's Poon Tip. "We used the light marine fuel. It
does dissolve and dissipate in the water. But there's still an
evaluation going on. One of our people is doing a fly-over with the
Chilean government. And it is something that we are concerned
about."
As for public
perceptions, "I certainly hope it doesn't dissuade people from
traveling to Antarctica," said Poon Tip. "This was an accident,
something we couldn't predict."
So far, it's
business as usual for Antarctic-bound operators.
"We haven't had any
cancellations," Flager said. "We've only had increased bookings
from a handful of people who couldn't go on GAP."
Some industry
observers said the incident could boost awareness about the risks
of tourism in the region and encourage suppliers and travelers to
act responsibly.
"The waters around
Antarctica are international shipping waters," said Landau. "Any
ship can go there. What you need to do is to be able to manage
that."
Skog said, "Now
Antarctica has pressure from all our visitors to keep things
clean."
The passengers who
were on the Explorer before it went down were 12 days into a 20-day
Spirit of Shackleton itinerary, which cost between $8,000 and
$12,000 per person, cruise only. When rescued passengers arrived in
Punta Arenas, Chile, they were given the option to continue with
their journey or return home.
"Some of them are
continuing their travels," Hayes said.
To
contact reporter Michelle Baran, send e-mail to [email protected].
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For more details on this article, see "In the Hot Seat: Jim Barnes."