Monday, April 1, 2024

'Rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, leaves 1 dead and 4 injured

wave cruise ship

The Viking Polaris’ next departure, the Antarctic Explorer cruise scheduled for Dec. 5-17, was canceled due to the incident. The Viking Polaris ship's next departure for the Antarctic, scheduled for Dec. 5, has been canceled "after careful consideration," the cruise line said. "Luckily, our windows did hold," she added, though said other rooms on their side of the ship were "washed out." Californian Beverly Spiker told ABC News that a "huge smash" against the window of her and her husband's cabin caused her window frame to break.

Rogue Wave Knocks Out Power Aboard Expedition Cruise Ship - TravelPulse

Rogue Wave Knocks Out Power Aboard Expedition Cruise Ship.

Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

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wave cruise ship

Born said that it was this very pace that prompted the river company to increase capacity for November sailings and add more “festive” cruises. For the Cunard brand specifically, the line booked more guests during January than any equivalent period in the last decade, according to a brand spokesperson. In North America, Cunard has booked 28% more guests than any other equivalent period in a decade, and there was a 27% increase year-over-year with Queen Mary 2’s transatlantic crossings, Queen Anne U.K.

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Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of South America, is a common starting point for cruises to Antarctica. "No matter what side of the boat you're on, it was felt throughout the ship that clearly something bad had happened," she said. AmaWaterways also saw record sales at the start of the year, as previously reported. Overall, the company’s booked position for the rest of the year remains the best on record, thanks to pricing and occupancy being higher than in 2023. Ian Roberts, another passenger, wrote on Facebook about the unexpected change in holiday plans.

Rogue wave strikes cruise ship, killing 1 and injuring 4 more

Forecasters said there would be gusty winds, dangerous surf and rip current conditions along parts of the southeastern coast of the United States through Sunday. Some passengers complained to CNN and CBS News about a lack of communication from cruise staff as the ship was pitching about. Such freak accidents may seem rare, but hundreds have occurred without warning around the world — on cruise ships, cargo vessels, oil platforms and beaches. The National Hurricane Center on Friday warned of a non-tropical area of low pressure off Florida that was set to move northward and inland over the Carolinas during the weekend. Forecasters said there would be gusty winds, dangerous surf and rip current conditions along portions of the U.S.'s southeastern coast through Sunday. "Our team are working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard," the statement added.

No serious injuries were reported among the 266 passengers and 131 crew members, according to HX. Reuters reported that the ship was being towed to Bremerhafen in Germany after the power outage. A spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre told the news agency that a ship from civil rescue firm Esvagt had managed to connect a tow line to the MS Maud. Viking said in a statement on its website that it's investigating the wave incident and is committed to the safety and security of all guests and crew.

River Cruise Success: Avalon Waterways and American Cruise Lines

HX, formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions, also saw a bookings boost in January and February, including within the trade. "This wave hit it and came over and literally broke through windows and just washed into these rooms, and not only did it wash into the rooms, but it broke walls down, and once some walls went into the next room," Tom Trusdale said. "It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident," Viking said in the statement. "We have notified the guest's family and shared our deepest sympathies. We will continue to offer our full support to the family in the hours and days ahead." One passenger posted a video on Facebook showing the view from her room's window Thursday with the cruise ship bobbing up and down and creaking in the throes of high waves. Rogue, or extreme storm, waves are "greater than twice the size of surrounding waves" and are "very unpredictable," according to the National Ocean Service.

UK traveler saw massive wave hit Norwegian cruise ship carrying 229 passengers before being ordered to hunker down for hours: 'It just exploded' - New York Post

UK traveler saw massive wave hit Norwegian cruise ship carrying 229 passengers before being ordered to hunker down for hours: 'It just exploded'.

Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Its operator, Hurtigruten Expedition, said in a statement that the 266 guests and 131 crew were uninjured and that the vessel, initially headed for the English port of Tilbury, would be diverted to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation. Scientists often refer to rogue waves as extreme storm waves that surge out of nowhere, often in an unpredictable direction, and can look like a steep wall of water, up to twice the size of surrounding waves. The Viking Polaris cruise ship was sailing toward Ushuaia in Argentina — the main starting point for expeditions to Antarctica — when there was "a rogue wave incident," a representative of the Viking cruise company said in a statement. The largest rogue wave ever recorded was the Draupner wave, an 84-foot-tall (25.6 meters) wave that was observed near Norway in 1995.

MORE: Carnival cruise passenger who went overboard was 'dead set' on surviving

The massive walls of water come from seemingly out of nowhere and without warning. Tutrone said the only time passengers heard from the captain was on Friday when he told them he had an experienced crew and would do everything he could to minimize discomfort as the ship encountered the storm. Things were crashing all around us and the carpet on my side of the bed was soaked (because) water came in thru our balcony door,” passenger Goodwin Sherbert wrote on Facebook.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. Video posted to Twitter under the handle @CrewCenter showed water running up and down a hallway and said the crew on one deck had to be evacuated to another part of the ship. Passenger William B. Blackburn, aboard for his first cruise with his wife and other family members, told CNN they stayed in their cabin and prayed they would be OK. He said he's not going to let the frightening experience stop him from going on more cruises in the future. "We were surrounded by lightning and the ship took a huge hit by a wave and sounded like it split in two," Tutrone tweeted.

Carnival Sunshine, which was headed from the Bahamas to South Carolina, arrived in Charleston behind schedule, according to the spokesman. Some crew cabins needed to be temporarily taken out of service because of water damage. Because of a lack of navigational abilities, the ship had to be steered manually from the engine room, per the news agency.

The ship, operated by HX, a cruise company owned by Norway's Hurtigruten Group, was about 120 miles from Denmark's west coast when the wave struck, Reuters reported. The wave's force shattered some of the ship's windows and caused it to tilt "pretty violently," passenger Elizabeth Lawrence told Business Insider. Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine described shattered glass, water pouring into rooms and hallways, the ship pitching about and a lack of communication from cruise staff. Some passengers and crew members needed "minor assistance" from medical staff, a Carnival cruise spokesman told CBS News. The Trusdales were passengers on the Viking Polaris cruise ship sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, when it was hit by a "rogue wave" last week, killing an American passenger, Sheri Zhu, and injuring four others.

The Viking Polaris was launched in 2022 and is the newest ship in the company's fleet. Neither the Viking statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown. In recent years, some observers have warned that the increase in tourism may not be sustainable and that it could threaten visitor safety or disrupt the fragile environment, which is already straining under the effects of climate change.

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