ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades, Antarctic cruise tourism has grown exponentially, from a few thousand tourists in the 1990s to over 44,000 in the 2007/2008 season (IAATO, 2008a). Approximately 95 per cent of Antarctic tourists explore the Antarctic by cruise ship (Dingwall and Cessford, 1996, p65; Hemmings and Roura, 2003, p18). In this way, ship-based tourism continues to hold an incontestable first place when ranking the numbers of Antarctic tourists by mode of transport. Until recently, Antarctic cruise tourism has prided itself on an exceptional safety record. However, as Table 11.1 exemplifies, various accidents and incidents within the last two Antarctic seasons (2007/2008 and 2008/2009) mar this record. Incidents and accidents over the last two Antarctic seasons (2007–2009) https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Date
Vessel (operator)
Location
Incident
Damage
Source
30 January 2007
Nordkapp (Hurtigruten)
Neptune's Bellows, Deception Island
Vessel grounds at the entrance to the caldera as a result of human error
Damage to parts of the hull and tanks
(Norway, 2007)
23 November 2007
Explorer (GAP Adventures)
Bransfield Strait
Vessel strikes submerged ice and damages hull
Complete loss (vessel sinks)
(Reel, 2007)
28 December 2007
Fram (Hurtigruten)
Brown Bluff
Vessel drifts into a glacier after an electricity outage
Damage to one lifeboat
(Gillies, 2008)
4 December 2008
Ushuaia (Antarpply Expeditions)
Wilhelmina Bay, near Cape Anna
Vessel grounds at the entrance of Wilhelmina Bay
Damage to two diesel tanks carrying marine gas oil (MGO)
(IAATO, 2008b)
17 February 2009
Ocean Nova (Quark Expeditions)
Marguerite Bay, west of Debenham Island
Vessel grounds circa 2km from the Argentinean San Martin station
Limited damage to the hull
(Quark Expeditions,2009)
