voyageur9

thanks for the informative response.

To your point about that "if the door is heated by the steam filling the space, it expands in the wedge frame, increasing the pressure required to open the door, likely above what could be provided by the hydraulic pump" then the issue may be moot given that the those inside may have been boiled alive. However, are you also saying that maritime hydraulically-closed watertight doors are cannot be manually opened, once closed?

The Dutch OVV is analogous to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in that it investigates accidents with under a mandate to determine causal or contributing sequences, failures and deficiencies rather than to assign blame or culpability. The OVV does publish its accident investigation reports. Like the NTSB, it is usually months, sometimes years, before final reports are issued depending on the complexity of the case.

Yes, Canadian customs and immigration at the port for entry into Canada. Then, at Vancouver airport, U.S. customs and immigration if, and only if, you are flying directly into the United States.

thanks hallsam, ... are you aware of the identity of the second cruise ship. Marine Traffic has one some distance away but it's only identified to satellite service subscribers.

The Knud Ramussen is a relatively small Danish naval patrol vessel. It is not designed for towing or salvage. At roughly 2,000 tonnes it's about one-quarter the weight and two-thirds the length of the Ocean Explorer. It might be able to dis-embark the passengers but it would be a rather uncomfortable journey. Current crew size is 18 with berths for 43.

If the picture is anywhere near high tide, this vessel is likely very hard aground. The bow is several feet above the normal water line. Help is a long way away. The perils (and rewards) of cruising in high latitudes with (often) poorly charted areas https://gcaptain.com/expedition-cruise-ship-ocean-explorer-aground-in-greenland/

Refreshing to read Hank's well-reasoned and intelligent assessment. There's nothing negative about correctly assessing that a ship is about to sink. Even rats get it. "A rotten carcass of a boat, not rigg'd, Nor tackle, sail, nor mast; the very rats Instinctively had quit it." Shakespeare's The Tempest, Act I, Scene II (1610)

And the last time CCL traded at $7, .... Bush the first was prez, Braniff went out of bizness, the Olympics opened in Barcelona, all in July 1992. Meanwhile the Westerdam, no not the current one, but the previous one bought used from Homeric was HAL's newest ship.