At this very moment, the M/S Explorer Antarctica cruise ship has an about 23-degree list after it hit an iceberg nearby King George Island in Antarctica at 0524 GMT.

The 100 passengers on board are rescued by lifeboats from 2 nearby cruiseships: the Endeavor and the well known Norwegian Nordnorge.

What is intriguing though is that this Antarctica cruise ship, although its small size is a true Antarctica vessel providing Antarctica expeditions in the truest sense of the word: the M/S Explorer used to go "where other cruise ships cannot".

At only 75 meters in length and equipped with an ice hardened double hull and a fleet of robust Zodiacs, the M/S Explorer Antarctica ship used to be a go-anywhere ship for the go-anywhere traveler, much like the Nordnorge or the sturdiest of all: the Russian cruise ships from Quark expeditions.

With a veteran crew of polar mariners and an experienced expedition team of marine and avian biologists, geologists, historians and naturalists, adventures on the M/S Explorer are usually daring voyages of discovery to the far reaches of the globe with a quest for knowledge and authentic cultural and natural experiences as the driving forces.

So it is quite a mystery so far why it hits an iceberg in the first place… (will be continued)

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