Silversea Explorer Damaged

[Jamey Bergman]

Hi all, here's the latest we've heard from Silversea. Thanks for the info. on compensation! If anyone knows anything more about compensation arrangements -- or has photos or video from Silver Explorer's trip, drop me a line: jamey@cruisecritic.co.uk

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=5164

 

Thanks!

[mbernst106]

We got off of the SS Explorer on January 4,2013 after an outstanding holiday cruise to Antarctica. We had Drake's Lake in both directions - not even a small wave. The captain actually accelerated our return to Ushuaia in order to miss some expected bad weather. We arrived in Ushuaia about 12 hours early. The SS crew does everything they can to make the passage as safe and as comfortable for their passengers as nature will allow. Rough seas should not be a deterrent to taking this phenomenal trip. What happened this week was an exception and I am sure that the captain did everything he could to minimize the impact.

[xcountry]

Here's a link for the "official" information from the school:

 

http://www.hotchkiss.org/news/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=5494&ModuleID=89&NEWSPID=1

 

Click on the full text of "Mr.McKenzie's email" -- apparently the captain and 3 other crew members suffered minor injuries. The kids are going home as scheduled, but will enjoy some activities in Ushuaia since they will be arriving a few days early. There are also links for blogs the students were writing. I was in touch with one of the naturalists and at least the kids had a great time on South Georgia!

[xcountry]

It appears that the hotchkiss link is no longer available. Here is the link to Claudia Holgate's summary which she posted yesterday. She is one of Silversea's resident expedition leaders specializing in ornithology and the environment. She is also an EMT.

 

http://holgate.co.za/blog/wordpress/

 

Let's all hope the next sailing on the 31st is a smooth one!

[Stumblefoot]

Thank goodness for blogs. What an incredible story of what really happened aboard the Silver Explorer! Heroism abounded. They are lucky the damage or injuries they suffered weren't worse.

 

In case the link would be taken down, I have included the most important details from the first hand account below. Thanks xcountry for the link!

 

--------------------

 

We left South Georgia slightly earlier than initially planned as we could see a depression moving our way and we wanted to get ahead of the worst of the storm. We still ended up getting hit by it. 70 knot winds (130km/hour or 80miles per hour) 8-10m (25-30 foot) waves, the ship was moving a lot. I have been in this little ship in many such storms and it is built to cope with anything Mother Nature can throw at us. This one though threw something none of us expected.

 

January 12, 2013

At about 6pm we were heading through the storm, the wind had died down from 70 to 40 knots and I had hunkered down, not being able to work at my computer for risk of feeling sea sick and not wanting to walk around the ship as there was so much movement. Lectures had been cancelled for the day but we were still going to have a recap, so I was contemplating getting up to get ready for the recap, when we hear on the radio that a bridge window has broken. I don’t want to go up because I will just be in the way, when the next minute I am called to the hospital for injuries, I throw on my uniform (I realised later to my shock and horror I had put my shirt on inside out). I get there and our EL and AEL (Robin and Jarda) are there with blood streaming from their faces but the doctor is checking them out and has everything under control.

 

I then get called to the bridge to check out the captain. I get there and am walking through ankle deep water, Jarda’s shoes are floating by and the bridge is a hive of activity. The Captain is in control, but also has blood pouring out of a cut on his face which he is trying to staunch with a towel, while continuing to address the situation. I don’t want to disturb him, but make gauze pad and instruct him to put pressure over the laceration. He says he has a broken nose as he wiggles it from side to side, there is not much I can do about that there and the Captain is reluctant to go to the hospital.

 

Half the bridge is destroyed, the bridge consol is lying warped and crumpled, after being pulled off its mountings. The deck team are trying and put a metal screen over the broken window to stop more water gushing in with every big wave we hit. They too are hanging on with every roll of the ship, but do an amazing job securing the hole which has no glass in it whatsoever. Later glass is found lodged in the ceiling. I was told that there was enough water to fill the bridge to 6 foot as it completely submerged people who were not in direct impact of the wave. Realising that every cubic metre of water weighs 1 ton (1000 kg), it is surprising that the injuries were not more severe.

 

Someone told me that guests on deck 7 have been injured, so I go up there to check on them and they had a few minor cuts but nothing needing serious medical attention. Deck 7 experiences the most movement and we were rolling about 45 degrees at this stage. I was hanging on with every roll, looking down at the waves, thinking that launching lifeboats in these conditions won’t be a lot of fun. While I was up there I checked on all guests on deck 7, a table in one guest suite had not been bolted down had gone sliding into a mirror smashing it (it had a heavy base so normally would not go sliding), they wanted me to get someone to fix it, but now is not a good time, so I fix the mirror quickly with duct tape before heading back down to the bridge.

 

At this stage we had lost power and steering on the bridge as they were transferring the steering to manual in the engine room. We were getting hit by waves side on, the ship is rolling at 45 degree angles(I can only imagine how terrifying this had to be for the passengers. 45 degree angles? Wowza!!!), everything is flying. I manage to convince the captain to come down to the infirmary with me so we can treat him. The doc and I then spend the next 7 hours stitching up the three patients (our EL, AEL and Captain), with the other expedition leader from the charter company (JD) also having a concussion and bruised, possibly cracked ribs and a sprained ankle.

 

So here we are in the infirmary, the ship is rolling, with every roll, the patient who is on the metal X ray/exam table slides, so we have between 2 and 4 expedition staff holding them from sliding, everything, computers, printers, medication, bins, you name it is sliding off tables and across the floor. We set up another two mattresses in the passage where we can move two of the patients until we can look at them. They all have head injuries, the captain has a broken nose and dislocated/fractured shoulder, Robin and Jarda deep cuts on their head and face, there is blood all over the place and JD has developed a headache of note. Eventually we finish stitching, bandaging, medicating everyone and the doc wants me to keep checking blood pressure every hour to see if any of them develop raised inter cranial pressure during the night. I don’t sleep.

 

January 13, 2013

It has been crazy, the captain wanted to address everyone, but he has racoon eyes (Blood pooling below the eyes) and I am not sure if he doesn’t have a le Forte fracture (a facial fracture across the nose) as he took the brunt of the hit. There is nothing we can do with our limited facilities. He is concerned about what he looks like and I try to tell him that it is important that the passengers see him in this state, as they will then appreciate the severity of the situation. He speaks to all the guests and it is very emotional as the theatre erupts with a standing ovation as he walks in.

 

My job is to look after JD, Robin and Jarda. I need to check JD every hour to start as she still has a massive headache, Robin and Jarda seem to be ok, and I just need to change dressings once a day and check BP to make sure there are no intercranial bleeds or increased intercranial pressure. They improve rapidly. I go into the hospital and it looks like a war zone, dried blood everywhere, boxes, bandages, instruments lying all over the floor. Some gets tidied up, but some gets left as it will just slide again. The doc and I are exhausted, but I just seem to be running constantly. Trying to communicate with the office and let ships know our itinerary is cancelled, many ships had seen us change course on the vessel tracking system and want to know if everything is ok. I try respond to everyone, as our leadership team is down. Nadia, our cruise director, is doing a fabulous job of sorting out everyone and the programme.

 

Deck 4 forward and some of deck 3 forward (where I am) were completely flooded as water gushed down the stairwells, through the ceiling and down the walls. The galley had everything thrown around, a 400kg oven broke off its mounting and flew behind a door, so nobody could open it. Fortunately, the galley had been evacuated a few minutes before. They lost a lot of provisions and couldn’t get to many as the galley had been turned upside down, so cooking is impossible, I think loads of plates were broken, but everyone has been amazing and pulling together as a team.

 

We regained power, steering (very quickly), one radar and the stabilisers within a few hours, but the sea is still really rough and nobody has a good night, at about 10 this morning we turned into the storm and started heading back to Ushuaia, which means that we will miss out on the Antarctic Peninsula completely. I am very disappointed, as I am sure the kids are, but we have no option.

 

The ship was on shut down, passengers (90 kids and about 23 adults) were confined to cabins in the main section of the ship (Nobody in the forward cabins as most had been flooded anyway and the kids had to go up to 4 or 5 to a cabin), food was brought by tray (not much choice you could have a ham and cheese sandwich or a cheese sandwich). After lunch I thought I would try sleep, no chance. Back to checking on the patients, we still rolling like crazy even though the stabilisers are working.

 

January 14, 2013

I still haven’t slept much, maybe 5 hours in the last 72. I have been worried about JD, her headache is still there. She got up for a bit and her headache got worse, not a good sign, I am really worried. If it were possible, I would have liked to medivac her out, but we are 5 days from anywhere. I decided to stay in her cabin for one night in case she deteriorates. Robin and Jarda are bouncing back and the Captain is insisting on doing his watches in spite of being in great pain. He really should take it easy, but I can understand his sense of duty. He has shown great leadership and I hope he will recover well.

 

The Doc and I spend the afternoon meeting with all the students and guests to find out if anyone was injured and to see if anyone needed counselling. Most of the kids seem to have coped quite well and we answered a lot of questions. These sessions I found really useful as they almost seem to lift a cloud from the guests and I think the communication was really important.

 

January 15 - 17, 2013

I have managed a little sleep over the past few nights, but now the adrenaline has worn off, I am completely exhausted and emotionally drained. JD complained that her neck had gone into spasm and after much cajoling she allowed me to massage her neck and shoulders, it seemed to relieve much of the pain. The next day JD is way better, her headache nearly gone and I cannot describe my relief.

 

The Doc and I have been chatting about the crew’s mental state, many are traumatised and struggling to cope. I am trying to eat in the crew mess as much as I can so that I can see and chat to the crew and try and get them to open up to me, if they need someone to talk to. They are very responsive, but I still feel as if I am not very good at being able to draw them out. I think a proper debriefing should be a requirement after such an event and that every crewmember should go through it from the captain down. The officers have been superb at taking over responsibility, but they too need a debriefing.

 

All the ships’ crew, in every department have pulled together and brought the ship back to working order in a remarkably short space of time. I marvel at the hard work and cheerfulness of everyone and wish that this would be the story that comes out. How a stressful situation can bring people together and achieve amazing things. Such a case could have been completely different if there had been dissention or poor communication.

 

We are back on schedule in terms of lectures and activities, I still needed to give my climate change lecture, a tough one, as many people have differing views. I think it goes well and I hope the audience took home some of the key messages. I also had one more recap to give, even though I struggled to get my enthusiasm up, it seemed to go reasonably well.

[kimanjo]

The ship was on shut down, passengers (90 kids and about 23 adults) were confined to cabins in the main section of the ship (Nobody in the forward cabins as most had been flooded anyway and the kids had to go up to 4 or 5 to a cabin), food was brought by tray (not much choice you could have a ham and cheese sandwich or a cheese sandwich). After lunch I thought I would try sleep, no chance. Back to checking on the patients, we still rolling like crazy even though the stabilisers are working.

 

 

 

Am I reading this correctly???

 

There were 90 kids and 23 adults on board?????

 

Considering the sip holds about 130 passengers, did this poster mean 9 kids...

 

And, even at that, isn't that a LOT of kids on a 130 pax ship.

[RachelG]

It was a special charter for a school group from some fancy private school in the NE.

 

Anyway, the report is chilling. I am happy not to have been aboard, though I would have probably been of assistance as my surgery stitching skills could have been of good use.

[rojaan19]

Anyway, the report is chilling. I am happy not to have been aboard, though I would have probably been of assistance as my surgery stitching skills could have been of good use.

 

All I can say is OMG - I too am glad we were not on that cruise !

 

Claudia Holgates blog certainly gives a detailed report of what happened and the actual damage to the Explorer !!

[drron29]

What a story.Heroism is certainly the right word to use.I am just wondering if the Explorer will be doing this next voyage.Certainly seems a short time to fix what sounds like major damage in a remote location.

[Ballyboffin]

What a story.Heroism is certainly the right word to use.I am just wondering if the Explorer will be doing this next voyage.Certainly seems a short time to fix what sounds like major damage in a remote location.

 

The exprience sounds horrendous! We have friends sailing on the Explorer on 31st. They have already started their journey from Cyprus so it is certainly going ahead. I just hope and pray that their voyage is uneventful!

[rojaan19]

The exprience sounds horrendous! We have friends sailing on the Explorer on 31st. They have already started their journey from Cyprus so it is certainly going ahead. I just hope and pray that their voyage is uneventful!

 

 

PLEASE get them to do a report on their trip ! There are a lot of people awaiting to hear exactly how things are on board. :)

[jpalbny]

What a story! I am amazed that we haven't had more details in the mainstream news media. Much more newsworthy, and heroic, than blathering about yet another athlete using PEDs...:rolleyes:

[fudge]

We are the friends Ballyboffin spoke about. After a very long journey from Cyprus (Europe) we arrived at BA EZE international airport. We may have been unlucky, but the queues for passport control were very long, one hour to get through (eye and fingerprint recognition).

 

We collected our luggage then waited one more hour to get through customs control, every bag is screened, not what you need after a long journey.

 

Thankfully once through we were greeted by our pre booked English speaking taxi guy. (can supply details if needed) We had booked a very nice Hotel near to the domestic airport where we fly from in the morning only 15 minutes from the airport, don't even think of staying near to EZE airport the traffic is so bad.

 

The hotel is called the Fierro Hotel in Palmero, very clean, comfotable, welcome glass of wine on arrival, safe area to stay, reasonably priced.

 

We have an early breakfast, taxi ordered, plane leave for Urshuia 08.00hrs. Will report further. :D

[Stumblefoot]

Thanks Fudge! We all look forward to your trip report.

 

Have a great voyage and be safe!

[Mike2131]

All I can say is WOW! Having sailed on the Silver Explorer and taken an Antarctic cruise (not on the Silver Explorer), I can only imagine that it must have been an unbelievable experience. I am certainly glad the injuries were not more severe.

 

Has anyone heard anything about a technical stop (other than the cancelled sailing) to repair the damage and properly refurbish the flooded areas of the ship? I am not sure how much they were able to accomplish in Ushuaia.

[Ballyboffin]

We are the friends Ballyboffin spoke about.

 

And the most PRECIOUS, NICEST friends we have!!!! You two have a fantastic cruise and keep safe. Hope that Bev's birthday is well celebrated, we will be thinking about her...... Remember about the yellow snow!

 

See You in May

 

Pat & John XXXXX

[fudge]

After a pleasant evening in BA at a really nice steak house we retired to a warm and comfortable bed. Early start 05.30 with a continental style breakfast served in the room, left the hotel for a 15 minute drive to AEP domestic airport in a pre booked local taxi, cost, 71 pesos, £9 or 15 US dollars.

On arrival, met by Silversea rep before check in who gave us our boarding passes with pre allocated seating, no upgrades allowed, no queues, simple check in procedure for luggage with LAN (Local airline) for our onward flight to Ushuaia, the baggage was not weighed, no restriction on hand luggage. A Silversea rep travels on the plane with you.

 

 

The airport has plenty of places to eat and drink, a few shops open to browse. The plane was a modern Airbus A380, departed 30 mins late at 08.55 hrs, seating was comfortable but economy (coach) is never that good for leg room, we were lucky and had three seats for two. Food on board is very odd!! After 50minutes they serve coffee/tea/soft drinks, no wine or spirits on board, there is beer. They offer a light snack comprising three packets of biscuits (cookies) 15 minutes later same again, except this time you are offered a packet of crisps/chips.

After 3hrs 10 mins we landed in Ushuaia not the 3hrs 50 as posted, nice surprise there. Nice modern airport, after collecting our bags from the carrousel we took them outside and left them with SS, we boarded a very nice coach. When the coach was almost full a tour guide announced that we were going to a restaurant for lunch 20 mins away, she gave a good history lesson on the way.

Stopped at a very nice place for lunch, three course meal, BB lamb for a main course, lasted about an hour. From there we drove into the town and had just less than 1 hour to walk around the shops before boarding the ship.

At last on board!!!

A warm welcome as usual from all the staff, nice parker coat awaits in our room. We are on deck 3 so will report later on that. First thing was the mandatory lifeboat drill, sailed away 18.30hrs, then 18.45 meet and greet from the crew.

Very rough seas and a large swell from 22.00hrs to last at least 12 hours!! Tablets on hand.

[jpalbny]

Welcome aboard! Have a great sail, and enjoy Antarctica!

[CanadianKate]

Fudge: thanks for posting your experiences. I'm enjoying 'cruising along' with you! This cruise is on our bucket list but nearer the bottom because I'm scared of the rough seas, cold weather, and great cost!

[RachelG]

So glad you are onboard and posting. I really look forward to any updates as this is on our bucket list.

[ging466]

but nearer the bottom because I'm scared of the rough seas, cold weather, and great cost!

 

CanadianKate - u live in Eastern Canada - how much colder could Antarctica possibly be? :D

 

I probably won't do Antarctica for the same reasons!

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[Mike2131]

I look forward to hearing about the condition of the Bridge (if visits are allowed since the accident), the ship in general, and decks 3 and 4 forward in particular. 4 of us are sailing in Deck 4 forward cabins in mid-May and I will be interested to hear how well they were able to rehab them after the flooding.

 

Thanks and have a great trip.

[Skeezics]

Fudge: Thanks for posting. Will relive our trip from 2010, through your postings. You are in for an unbelievable experience. Hope you are going all the way to South Georgia. Happy sailing.

[CanadianKate]

CanadianKate - u live in Eastern Canada - how much colder could Antarctica possibly be? :D

 

In their summer, not unbearably colder!

 

But in my winter, I far prefer to spend my travel dollars on something that will get me warm to hot sunshine while lazing by a pool, served by the pool bar wait staff who remember my preferences, rather than having to schlep on parka, boots, hat and mitts when around the pool or staggering to the dining room to get more ginger due to rough crossings.

 

I'm still working on developing a sense of adventure and becoming a better traveler.

[Stumblefoot]

The plane was a modern Airbus A380...

Thanks for sharing your trip with us Fudge. Are you sure your plane was really an A380? I find that shocking for LAN as the 380 is GI-normous! Especially, on that particular route too.

 

This cruise is on our bucket list but nearer the bottom because I'm scared of the rough seas, cold weather, and great cost!

I'm with Kate, sans the cold of course. When one lives at 7,500 ft., cold is a given. ;)