DISQUS

gCaptain: Cruise Ship Explorer Antarctic Abandonment - Update

  • Anonymous · 2 years ago
    The ship is not the Explorer II, she's the "Explorer" IMO 6924959
  • Fred Fry · 2 years ago
    I think it would be fair to call the National Geographic Endeavour a cruiseship doing the same thing as the EXPLORER. Seems that some of the news reports are questioning the age of the EXPLORER as well as commenting on some deficiencies in a past Port State Control inspection. Oddly enough the NG ENDEVOUR is older than the EXPLORER and also has a PS inpsection from earlier this year list 8 deficiencies.

    A newer ship is going to be bigger and present much more surface area to being holed by ice, leaving that many more passengers adrift at sea, with only smaller ships to come to their aid.

    At any rate, seems that the ship's crew successfully evacuated the passengers.
  • CheckSix · 2 years ago
    One news source reported that the MS Explorer had a double "bottom", while the G.A.P. Adventure website listed the Explorer as 1) shallow draft, ice strengthened double hull; and 2) double, ice hardened hull ice rating of "1A1 Ice A". Is there a difference between ice strengthened and ice hardened?

    Does double hull mean a structural feature up to the waterline and a strengthened bow?
  • John · 2 years ago
    I'd have to ask a Naval Architect to answer your first question but a double hull is simple 2 hulls with an air gap between them. This means that if one hull is penetrated the second can maintain the watertight integrity of the vessel. These are primarily found on oil tankers and were mandated after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

    Here's a photo to illustrate a double hull:
    http://www.diamondvessels.com/publish_files/d34...

    Having a double hull doesn't mean automatically mean the bow was strengthened.
  • Laura Thieme · 2 years ago
    I'm going to Antarctica next week on the Abercrombie & Kent Explorer II (now called the Minerva). It is a double hulled ice class vessel with an Italian RINA Class 1-D rating. What's the difference between the two (Explorer rating versus Explorer II rating)?

    Do either really matter if you hit an iceberg?
  • John · 2 years ago
    Good question!

    "Do either really matter if you hit an iceberg?" yes, depending on how you hit the iceburg. If you scrape down the side at low speed the double hull will help but I don't know enough about the Class rating to give you a better answer.

    Any one else know?
  • JSM · 2 years ago
    Laura, I retired in 2002 but RINA had a bad reputation most of my career. They got a portion of blame for the ERIKA tragedy in 2000 and made promises to improve but were only moderately successful by the time I left. The CG publishes statistics:
    http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/content...
  • Capt. Mike · 2 years ago
    Those are only US stats and we all know the worst ships avoid the US. Try parismou.org
  • Alex · 2 years ago
    I believe that ship was originally designed as a russian research vsl.
  • JSM · 2 years ago
    Swedish Finnish Ice Class rating of 1D: "for ships intended to navigate in light first-year ice conditions"

    Ice Classes:
    http://www.sjofartsverket.se/templates/SFVXPage...