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More details are starting to emerge on the cruise ship that is reportedly sinking somewhere near King George Island (near the South Shetland Islands between Antarctica and the southernmost tip of Argentina). The 2,400-tonner liner, MV Explorer, owned by Toronto-based Gap Adventures [site seemingly very slow at present, perhaps understandably], was built in 1969 and had 100 crew and 54 passengers on board. It has apparently hit some ice and was listing at 25 °, with the captain and his first officer remaining on board, and all other passengers and crew safely evacuated on life vessels. MV Antarctic Dream, a Chilean ship in the area, has been diverted to help with the rescue. MV Explorer herself helped in the rescue of the crew of a sinking Argentinean supply vessel that had hit a rock ledge off Anvers Island in Antarctica, in 1989.
Update from the BBC:
Ms Hayes, vice-president of marketing for Toronto-based Gap Adventures, told the BBC News website: “The M/S Explorer hit a lump of ice off King George Island this morning and the impact left the vessel with a crack in the hull the size of a fist.
“All passengers and crew have been evacuated, they are all accounted for and are safe and well and have been transferred to another vessel.”