Did ship sail too close to Arctic glacier?
Question marks have been raised over whether a tourist ship in the Arctic sailed too close to a glacier when large chunks of ice sheared off injuring 17 British tourists.
Fifty British tourists were on board the Aleksey Maryshev sightseeing vessel viewing ice formations when the accident occurred. They were on a cruise booked through tour firm Discover the World off the coast of the remote Svalbard Islands around 600 miles from the North Pole.
The ship is reported to have listed violently in the sea off the islands and Police on the islands have started investigating whether the ship, operated by Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, had sailed too close to the glacier, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Discover the World managing director Clive Stacey was quoted as saying, “The captain has very strict instructions on how [close] he is allowed to come to the glacier.”
“We are at the moment investigating, as is the governor of Spitsbergen, exactly what happened and, if that’s the case, why he was so close.”
The operator, a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators which has been in operation for more than 23 years, issued a statement, saying it was awaiting a detailed report from the ship operators into the incident.
“What we do know is that the ship Aleksey Maryshev was near to an iceshelf and a part of the glacier calved off,” the statement said. “We understand that some of the smaller pieces of ice and water were washed onto the ship’s deck and some of our passengers were injured.”
“Seven of our passengers were airlifted from the ship to Longyearbyen Hospital.” “None of them have life-threatening injuries although two are more seriously injured than the others, but they are in a stable condition and have been moved to Tromso Hospital in Norway.” “A further three passengers have also been moved to Tromso together with one of the crew members.”
The company said that 10 further passengers were taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries and have returned to the ship, which is docked in Longyearbyen.
The majority of passengers were due to fly home on Saturday.
“Our absolute company priority is to concentrate on Discover the World’s clients and their families and we are doing everything possible to assist them,” the statement said.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive