MS Lindblad Explorer
MS Explorer in 2005
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| History | |
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| Builder: | Uudenkaupungin Telakka, Uusikaupunki, Finland |
| Laid down: | 1969 |
| Launched: | 14 December 1969 |
| Out of service: | 23 November 2007 |
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| Fate: | Sank after hitting an iceberg on 23 November 2007 at 62°24′S 57°16′W / 62.400°S 57.267°W. |
| Status: | Sunk. Final wreck position at (62°24′18″S 57°11′46″W / 62.404882°S 57.196247°W) |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 2398 |
| Length: | 239 ft (73 m) |
| Beam: | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft 7 in (4.45 m) |
| Ice class: | ICE-1A (as per BNV, equals Finnish-Swedish IA) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × MaK diesel M452 AK each 1,800 bhp (1,300 kW), driving a single variable-pitch propeller, 4 blades |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots (23 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 104 passengers |
| Crew: | 54 |
MS Explorer was a Liberian-registered cruise ship designed for Arctic and Antarctic service, originally commissioned and operated by the Swedish explorer Lars-Eric Lindblad. Observers point to Explorer's 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica as the forerunner for today's sea-based tourism in that region.
The vessel was originally named MS Lindblad Explorer (until 1985), and MS Society Explorer until 1992. Ownership of the vessel changed several times, the last owner being the Toronto-based travel company G.A.P Adventures which acquired Explorer in 2004.
Explorer was the first cruise ship used specifically to sail the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean, and the first to sink there when she struck an unidentified submerged object (USO) on 23 November 2007, reported to be ice, which caused a 10 by 4 inches (25 by 10 cm) gash in the hull.Explorer was abandoned in the early hours of 23 November 2007 after taking on water near the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean, an area which is usually stormy but was calm at the time.Explorer was confirmed by the Chilean Navy to have sunk at approximate position 62° 24′ South, 57° 16′ West, between South Shetlands and Grahams Land, in the Bransfield Strait, where the depth is roughly 600 m. The Royal Navy Antarctic Patrol Ship Endurance, at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office whilst carrying out a hydrographic survey for the British Antarctic Survey, later pinpointed Explorer's final resting place as 62° 24′ 17.57″ South, 57° 11′ 46.49″ West at an approximate depth of 1,130 m, a distance of 4,373 m from its reported sinking position. This is broadly consistent with the direction of the prevailing current.
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