Last week the tourist ship MS Explorer sank in the Antarctic. According to shipping newspaper Lloyds List, a number of problems with the vessel were uncovered in a recent inspection. The paper says five deficiencies were discovered, including lifeboat maintenance problems, and apparently “watertight doors were described as ‘not as required’, and the fire safety measures also attracted criticism”. In Canada’s The Star, Sander Calisal, University of British Columbia professor emeritus, also questions why the ship went down.

All the passengers and crew got off safely and apparently in high sprits, declaring it all to be an adventure and even taking time out to get engaged. But there are some pretty serious questions to be answered here, not just about the Explorer but about tourism in Antarctic in general.

The NY Times has a nice piece examining the growing issues of tourism on the Earth’s last great wilderness. “There’s been kind of an explosion of tourism in Antarctica. Do we want this to become Disneyland or do we want some controls?” ask Jim Barnes, executive director environmental group Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, in the paper.

The Times also raises the unclear potential environmental problems from a “submerged ship that is estimated to be holding 48,000 gallons of marine diesel fuel”. We asked the British Antarctic Survey about this. It seems we have escaped serious harm to the environment. This time…

BAS understands that Explorer was carrying marine gas oil which disperses more readily in sea water than the heavy oils that many ships sailing in Antarctica use. The ship sank in one piece and in deep water (approx 1,500m) and this may also minimise the impact if the oil is released slowly through the water column rather than being deposited more rapidly on the surface.

The nearest land is approximately 45km from the site the ship sank – this is Bridgeman Island and it is known that there are penguin colonies there.

Image: Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea / Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC