M/S Explorer update

G.A.P Adventures, owners of the expedition ship, the M/S Explorer, have released the following update on the situation in the Antarctic sea.

All passengers and crew, including the captain of The M/S Explorer, are completely safe uninjured and in very good spirits. They have been evacuated to another vessel, the NordNorge, which is currently transporting them to King George Island where the NordNorge is expected to dock sometime after 17:00 GMT.

The ship's detailed itinerary can be seen at Gapadventures.com/tour/xvshs. The general itinerary for 19 day trip running from 11 November to 29 November 2007 is as follows:

Day 1 - Ushuaia
Day 2 - At sea
Day 3-4 - Falkland Islands
Day 5-6 At sea
Day 7-10 - South Georgia Island
Day 11-12 - At sea
Day 13-16 - Danco Coast of Antarctica
Day 17-18 - Drake Passage
Day 19 - Ushuaia

There were 100 passengers (including G.A.P Adventures expedition staff) and 54 crew aboard The M/S Explorer when it hit submerged ice off its port side in the Bransfield Strait off King George Island, Antarctica earlier today (05.24 GMT, Friday 23 November 2007) creating a hole reported to be the size of a fist.

The passengers onboard at the time were 2 Argentines, 10 Australians, 2 Belgians, 24 British nationals, 12 Canadians, 1 Chinese national, 3 Danes, 17 Dutch, 1 French, 1 German, 2 from Hong Kong, 4 Irish, 1 Japanese, 4 Swiss, 14 Americans, 1 Colombian and 1 Swede. The captain of the ship is Swedish and the majority of the crew are understood to be from the Philippines.