November 22, 2007, 03:20 GMT, with about 100 passengers and 54 crew aboard, the MS Explorer is sinking after hitting an iceberg
The ship struck an object, some have reported as an iceberg, ripping a hole in her belly the size of a naval orange, and then began taking on water in a cabin, soon flooding the engine room.
MS Explorer Sinking
Cruise Ship Sunk Near South Shetland Islands
November 23, 2007
The passengers onboard at the time according to G.A.P. were , 24 British nationals, 17 Dutch, 14 Americans, 12 Canadians, 10 Australians, 4 Irish, 4 Swiss, 3 Danes, 2 Argentines, 2 Belgians, 2 from Hong Kong, 1 Chinese national, 1 French, 1 German, 1 Japanese, 1 Colombian and 1 Swede. The captain of the ship is Swedish and the majority of the crew are understood to be from the Philippines.
The crew onboard M/S Explorer consist of 45 Filipinos, 4 Swedes, 2 Bulgarians, 2 New Zealanders, and 1 Pole. They were taken to King George Island where they will be spending the night.
Update: Friday November 23, 2007
The link has reported that the ship was listing at 90 degrees before the sun went down. It is expected at daybreak to be gone. The ship sunk near the South Shetland Islands about 2,000 miles south of the Falkland Islands or 475 nautical miles southeast of Ushuaia.
Explorer was built in 1970 and is ice-strengthened for the far southern hemisphere cruises. MV Explorer is operated by Great Adventure People (GAP) Adventures of Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Passengers and crew are reportedly in lifeboats awaiting rescue. The passengers and crew from the Explorer were picked up by the Nordnorge, a Norwegian cruise ship.
Reports say the vessel has about a 25 degree list at this point in time, and is not expected to recover.
Rescue centers in Norfolk, Virginia, and Ushuiia, Argentina, were taking charge of coordination, the Coast Guard said.
For the adventure seeking passengers aboard Explorer, they got exactly what they came for, adventure. It was indeed the greatest adventure of their lifetime, in a Titanic proportion.
December 28, 2007 MS Fram Iceberg Collision Is Here
