Aussies on ship stranded in Antarctica

Two Chilean Navy ships are powering through the southern oceans to help 122 people, including 11 Australians, aboard a cruise ship that is taking on water after running aground in Antarctic waters.

The Argentinian cruise ship Ciudad de Ushuaia sustained two cracks and was leaking
fuel and taking on water, the Argentinian Navy said on Friday.
It was not in danger of sinking, but two Chilean Navy ships were on the way to help,
and another passenger ship in the area was also assisting.
Mariano Memolli, of the Argentine National Antarctica Directorate, said the ship ran
aground on Thursday in Wilhelmina Bay, part of a peninsula that reaches towards the
southern tip of South America.
He said a Chilean vessel was expected to be the first to reach the damaged cruise
liner and would take on all of its 122 passengers and crew as a precaution.
Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) director Tony Press said: "There are 11
Australians among the 82 passengers and 40 crew aboard the vessel."
Dr Press said the information had come from the International Association of
Antarctic Tour Operators.
Other passengers included 12 Americans, 14 Dutch, nine Germans, seven Britons, six
Chinese, six Spaniards, five Swiss, three Italians, two Irish, two French, two
Canadians, a New Zealander, a Cypriot and a Belgian.
The crew consisted of 28 Argentinians, eight Chileans, three Uruguayans and one
Spaniard.
Dr Press said he was concerned about the possibility of a major disaster unfolding
in the future, given the increasing number of vessels not built for icy waters
heading to the Antarctic.
More than 40,000 tourists cruise the Antarctic Peninsula area close to South America
each year, he said, double the number a decade ago.
He said the waters were mostly uncharted, and while many cruise ships operated
almost entirely around the peninsula there were still obvious dangers.
"There are ever increasing numbers of large vessels carrying more than 500 people
entering Antarctic waters that aren't ice-strengthened," Dr Press said.
"There is a concern that an accident with one of these vessels, particularly a
sinking, would be beyond the capacity of Antarctic treaty parties or regional marine
rescuers to respond. That is a big concern."
Dr Press said the majority of vessels operating in the area were crewed and
captained by experienced people.
"But there are new vessels entering the region and they are concerning the Antarctic
treaty parties," he said.
He said treaty parties would meet next year in New Zealand to discuss such concerns,
and how to manage the impact of the tourism influx on research and the environment.
The emergency involving the Ciudad de Ushuaia is not the first in Antarctic waters.
In December last year, a Norwegian cruise liner, Fram, floated adrift for two hours
before being rescued in the same region with 256 passengers and 70 crew on board
after its engines failed.
In November last year, a Canadian-owned ship, Explorer, sank after hitting an iceberg.
Its 154 occupants abandoned ship in lifeboats and were rescued without injury,
though a massive fuel slick sullied the pristine protected nature zone.