Zodiac Accident at Elephant Island

[jpalbny]

Just saw this sad news. Expedition travel is not without risk, even when conditions look good. Hoping that the remaining injured staff and passengers make a full recovery. 

 

https://www.travelresearchonline.com/blog/index.php/2022/11/two-dead-in-rare-zodiac-accident-in-antarctica/

[drron29]

Sad news indeed.

[crusinbanjo]

Very sad, prayers go out to those effected.  Wow, very quirky indeed.  These boats are usually quite stable, and pax always wear life jackets, making the situation even more odd.

Edited November 23, 2022 by crusinbanjo

[AveSaloon]

A reminder that the world out there is not Disneyland.

[highplanesdrifters]

Terribly sad news, thoughts and condolences go to all involved.

 

From the article:

They also noted that the waters around Elephant Island are usually calm.

 

Reality:

Elephant Island waters are notoriously vicious. Zodiac rides are rare.

[Stumblefoot]

4 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

From the article:

They also noted that the waters around Elephant Island are usually calm.

Yeah, that was a stupid, uniformed quote.

[Rothko1]

A terrible tragedy; what a horrific thing to happen on what was supposed to be a "bucket list" type of cruise.

 

[highplanesdrifters]

2 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

Very sad, prayers go out to those effected.  Wow, very quirky indeed.  These boats are usually quite stable, and pax always wear life jackets, making the situation even more odd.

I was thinking about how this happened. The article mentioned that one women survived in an air pocket. I wonder if some were trapped under the zodiac. Life jackets inflated when they hit they water making it difficult to get out from under a flipped zodiac.

[Host Jazzbeau]

And this:  Scenic submersible delayed surfacing, damaged in Antarctic ice

 

At least no one was injured, but another reminder that technology can't protect against the huge forces of nature.

[Jonesy333]

This is very sad for all involved and my condolences to the families affected .

[crusinbanjo]

21 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

I was thinking about how this happened. The article mentioned that one women survived in an air pocket. I wonder if some were trapped under the zodiac. Life jackets inflated when they hit they water making it difficult to get out from under a flipped zodiac.

What you said sounds correct. Very sad situation 

[caradara]

I was just on the Silversea Explorer and was having dinner with one of the expedition staff when he told us about this accident.  He said that the zodiac driver was very experienced and was, actually, the expedition leader.  It's very sad and scary.

[cruiseej]

I'm guessing the expedition staff on the Explorer, and all the expedition ships in Antartica, had some long meetings and drills on their safety procedures after this tragic accident. Zodiacs are used because they are so stable and so unlikely to flip over, especially when loaded with a full complement of passengers. In a quick Google search, I couldn't find mention of this ever happening before. 

[Catlover54]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

I'm guessing the expedition staff on the Explorer, and all the expedition ships in Antartica, had some long meetings and drills on their safety procedures after this tragic accident. Zodiacs are used because they are so stable and so unlikely to flip over, especially when loaded with a full complement of passengers. In a quick Google search, I couldn't find mention of this ever happening before. 

 

My google search last week when I heard about it on Antarctica news (still present) showed it happened in 2013, also on Quark, in the Arctic (1 dead).

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2013/06/21/quark-expeditions-arctic-cruise-excursion-death/2446125/

 

It is, however, clearly very rare.

[sanne]

A woman died in a zodiac accident in 2007 at the Horizontal Falls Kimberley Australia. The zodiac was from Coral Princess on a 10 day cruise Broome to Darwin. The zodiac overturned throwing the woman into the water…sadly she was unable to be revived. 

[Port Power]

10 hours ago, sanne said:

A woman died in a zodiac accident in 2007 at the Horizontal Falls Kimberley Australia. The zodiac was from Coral Princess on a 10 day cruise Broome to Darwin. The zodiac overturned throwing the woman into the water…sadly she was unable to be revived. 

Horizontal Falls can be very rough. “White water rafting” type water and whirlpools. Regulations were tightened subsequent to that accident.  However, even with very experienced crew, nature can take its own path.

[sanne]

I

4 hours ago, Port Power said:

Horizontal Falls can be very rough. “White water rafting” type water and whirlpools. Regulations were tightened subsequent to that accident.  However, even with very experienced crew, nature can take its own path.

I have been through the Horizontal Falls 3 times. First time not long after that accident. It’s a wonderful experience but it’s easy to see how things could go badly wrong in an instant even with experienced crew. I’ve always chosen to go when there’s the least flow! 

[TRIPACIAN]

We were on the Cloud headed to Elephant island when this occurred.  We did not go there and the reason given was rough waters and bad weather.  The accident was on the 15th and we would have arrived on the 20th.  

[drron29]

Breaking news the new Viking Expedition ship has had a zodiac accident today with a bladder bursting on a zodiac and 2 thrown into the water. One woman apparently has a fractured leg and the ship is heading for Ushuaia.

[drron29]

The only news I can find on the incident as yet.

https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2022/11/30/larry-and-ann-mah-take-antarctica-trip-on-which-woman-is-badly-hurt/69687733007/

 

But there is a Silversea link. The Captain of the Polaris is captain Maggie who we sailed with from Iceland to Canada on her first voyage as a Silversea Captain on the Silver Explorer.

[Port Power]

2 hours ago, drron29 said:

The only news I can find on the incident as yet.

https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2022/11/30/larry-and-ann-mah-take-antarctica-trip-on-which-woman-is-badly-hurt/69687733007/

 

But there is a Silversea link. The Captain of the Polaris is captain Maggie who we sailed with from Iceland to Canada on her first voyage as a Silversea Captain on the Silver Explorer.

This incident has been kept very quiet.  There isn’t even mention of it in the Viking Expedition thread.  I do hope the lady is comfortable during transit and recovers in due course.

[tgh]

Even more interesting is that the brand new "wheelreinvented" ship has sustained damage returning across the drake….hmmmmmmm

[TrulyBlonde]

There is some info on the Viking board right now as to the issues with the zodiac, broken windows, severe injuries, and possibly a death.

I did my Antarctica & S Georgia island bucket list cruise and after that realized that expeditions cruising is not for me. 

If I had read this stuff prior, I would never have done it. South of France works best for me 😉

 

 

[crusinbanjo]

22 minutes ago, tgh said:

Even more interesting is that the brand new "wheelreinvented" ship has sustained damage returning across the drake….hmmmmmmm

Wow, that must have been a real rough ride.   is it possible the captain exceeded a speed limit for rough seas that caused the damage?  I know airplanes have speed limits for rough air, does that apply to ships as well?

[drron29]

You don't have to be speeding to break windows across the Drake. The Silver explorer got hit by a freak wave and the bridge window got smashed.

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2013/01/articles/rough-weather/another-close-call-in-antarctica-silver-explorer-damaged-by-large-wave/