On Monday, the Polar Star struck a rock while at anchor near Detaille Island, a small island off the Northern end of Arrowsmith Peninsula in Antarctica. The grounding damaged the outer hull of the double hulled ship. The ship sailed for the Arctowski Station, a Polish research facility on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, where divers made a thorough inspection of the damage. The cruise operator decided to evacuate the 80 passengers aboard the ship to Ushuaia on other expedition cruise ships sailing in the region. The Polar Star then will undergo temporary repairs before crossing the Drake’s Passage back to Ushuaia, with only crew on board.
Evacuation planned for passengers on damaged cruise ship
Polar Star Expeditions is organizing an evacuation for the 80 passengers aboard the Polar Star, the expedition cruise ship damaged Monday in Antarctica.
A statement issued late Wednesday by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators says the decision was made after divers inspected the condition of the ship’s hull at a Polish research station in the region.
The association had said previously that the outer hull of the double-hulled Polar Star was breached during Monday’s collision with an uncharted rock but the damage was minor, and the company initially had planned to sail the ship back to its home port of Ushuaia, Argentina with passengers on board.
Thanks to Miro for passing the story along.
Hi, I have been trying to contact Polar Star to book a trip to Antartica this year but all my emails were returned. Do you know if this ship is still operating? I have had no success in reaching anyone who offers cruises on Polar Star. If not, can you recommend any other small expedition cruise ship offering multiple stops to disembark like PS did? Thank you.