One cruise ship passenger died and 4 others have been injured after a big, surprising wave hit a cruise ship touring towards a preferred launching level for expeditions to Antarctica, Viking Cruises mentioned.
The ship, the Viking Polaris, was struck by a “rogue wave” on Tuesday at 10:40 p.m. native time whereas touring towards Ushuaia, Argentina, which is on the southern tip of South America, Viking Cruises said in a statement.
Viking Cruises didn’t say how the passenger was killed or present the passenger’s identify or nationality. The 4 passengers who have been injured have been handled by onboard medical workers and had non-life-threatening accidents, Viking Cruises mentioned.
Rogue waves are unpredictable, sometimes twice the scale of surrounding waves and sometimes come from a unique course than the encircling wind and waves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists are nonetheless attempting to determine how and when these unusual waves type.
Ann Mah, of Topeka, Kan., advised the information station WIBW that she and her husband have been on the ship when it was hit by the wave and that it was “identical to your complete home bought shook actually laborious.”
“I imply, it was only a thud,” Ms. Mah mentioned.
The Viking Polaris was launched this 12 months and was designed for journey to distant locations such because the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship is 665 ft lengthy and might carry 378 passengers and 256 crew members.
The ship sustained “restricted harm” from the wave and arrived in Ushuaia the day after it was struck, Viking Cruises mentioned.
The cruise firm canceled the Viking Polaris’s subsequent scheduled journey, a 13-day cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula.
“We’re investigating the details surrounding this incident and can supply our assist to the related authorities,” the corporate mentioned.
Tourism to the Antarctic has steadily elevated within the final 30 years, with 74,401 people touring there within the 2019-20 season, in response to the Worldwide Affiliation of Antarctica Tour Operators. Roughly 6,700 folks traveled there within the 1992-93 season, in response to the affiliation.
In recent times, some observers have warned that the rise in tourism might not be sustainable and that it might threaten customer security or disrupt the delicate setting, which is already straining below the results of local weather change.
It’s the starting of the Antarctic tourism season, which coincides with its summer time, starting in late October or early November and often lasting till March.
The dying on the Viking Cruises ship this week comes after the dying of two different cruise ship passengers within the Antarctic final month. Two Quark Expeditions cruise ship passengers died after one of many ship’s heavy obligation inflatable Zodiac boats overturned close to shore, Seatrade Cruise News reported.
