'Rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, leaves 1 dead and 4 injured

Table Of Content

• News
• Viking Polaris passengers speak out after 'rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, killing American woman
• Rogue wave kills navigation system on cruise ship with nearly 400 on board as deadly storm hammers northern Europe
• Expedition cruise ship loses power after being hit by rogue wave
• ABC News
• More from CBS News

One passenger posted a video on Facebook showing the view from her room's window Thursday with the cruise ship bobbing up and down and creaking in the throes of high waves. Rogue, or extreme storm, waves are "greater than twice the size of surrounding waves" and are "very unpredictable," according to the National Ocean Service. Four other guests sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident and were treated by the ship's doctor and medical staff, Viking said. “We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities,” the company said. "The situation started with the ship's horn sounding for an extremely long time, then the PA system came on, and we just heard scuffling and general moving around noises," Lawrence said. Then, passengers heard the alarm that meant they should head to their muster stations — the place on board where guests gather in case of an emergency.

News

The ship’s condition “remains stable and the crew are able to sail under their own power,” they said in an emailed statement. The storm also brought down trees and prompting warnings of flooding on the North Sea coast. A woman in Belgium was fatally injured by a falling Christmas tree, while another tree killed a person in the Netherlands. The cruise ship was anchored near Ushuaia, where a federal court has opened a case to determine what happened.

Viking Polaris passengers speak out after 'rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, killing American woman

During the trip back toward Argentina, through a known turbulent stretch of ocean, was when the "rogue wave" crashed into the cruise ship. The ship sustained "limited damage" from the rogue wave and arrived in Ushuaia on Wednesday "without further incident," Viking said. Hurtigruten told the outlet in a statement that no serious injuries resulted from the rogue wave.

Rogue wave kills navigation system on cruise ship with nearly 400 on board as deadly storm hammers northern Europe

See the Harrowing Footage of a Massive Wave Slamming into a Cruise Ship - 24/7 Wall St.

See the Harrowing Footage of a Massive Wave Slamming into a Cruise Ship.

Posted: Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

"We have notified the guest's family and shared our deepest sympathies. We will continue to offer our full support to the family in the hours and days ahead." The largest rogue wave ever recorded was the Draupner wave, an 84-foot-tall (25.6 meters) wave that was observed near Norway in 1995. However, the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded was the Ucluelet wave, a 58-foot-tall (17.7 m) wave that was detected by an ocean buoy off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia in November 2020.

ABC News Live

Lawrence, who had picked the cruise to see the Northern Lights, said the day started out with fairly big waves but that the captain had let passengers know to expect that. But as the day went on, the waves got bigger until they were large enough to spray her window on the sixth deck, she said. According to Viking's website, the Viking Polaris is a 665-foot-long cruise ship that was built in 2022. The ship, traveling under its own power, is currently sailing to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation, HX said in an updated statement Friday. "This wave hit it and came over and literally broke through windows and just washed into these rooms, and not only did it wash into the rooms, but it broke walls down, and once some walls went into the next room," Tom Trusdale said. Rogue waves are unpredictable, typically twice the size of surrounding waves and often come from a different direction than the surrounding wind and waves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Trusdales were passengers on the Viking Polaris cruise ship sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, when it was hit by a "rogue wave" last week, killing an American passenger, Sheri Zhu, and injuring four others. The ship is docked as passengers await further travel plans from Viking, according to Gooding, who said that two other ships in their bay in Ushuaia were also damaged, possibly by rogue waves. A passenger died and four others were injured after a large, unexpected wave hit a cruise ship traveling toward a popular launching point for expeditions to Antarctica, Viking Cruises said. "It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident," Viking said in the statement.

Cruise ship hit by rogue wave during storm, loses ability to navigate - Fox Business

Cruise ship hit by rogue wave during storm, loses ability to navigate.

Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The Ucluelet wave is regarded as the most extreme rogue wave because it was around three times higher than surrounding waves, while the Draupner wave was only around twice as tall compared with the surrounding sea state. These waves are very unpredictable and have a frightening appearance – with most reports describing rogue waves to look like steep "walls of water," the NOAA says. "Following a detailed diagnosis by the ship's medical team, the decision was taken for the ship to immediately sail to Ushuaia so that the guest could receive additional medical care from a shore-based hospital," it continued. An American passenger on an Antarctic cruise died and four other guests were injured after their Viking ship was struck by a "rogue wave," officials said.

Tom Trusdale said he and another passenger were able to quickly pull the man back on the boat, but the woman's leg was severely injured. Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of South America, is a common starting point for cruises to Antarctica. Spiker's cousin, Suzie Gooding, of North Carolina, told ABC News that at the time, the ship was going through the Drake Passage, "which is well-known for having turbulent seas." Lawrence added that while in their muster stations, passengers were given "survival suits" — or suits that "dramatically extend survival times" with insulation, per the Coast Guard.

US passenger killed after huge ‘rogue wave’ strikes Antarctic cruise ship

"We wondered if we hit an iceberg. And there are no icebergs out here, but that's how it felt," Suzie Gooding, a passenger on the Viking Polaris, told WRAL News. "Everything was fine until the rogue wave hit, and it was just sudden. Shocking." A possible rogue wave sent headlines around the world last week after it broke windows on a cruise ship off the coast of Argentina, killing a woman and injuring four others. A Norwegian cruise ship lost the ability to navigate after a rogue wave crashed into it Thursday, the cruise company HX said. The passenger's leg required surgery, which led the ship's captain to turn back to Argentina.

Passengers onboard the Viking Polaris cruise ship that was hit by a "rogue wave" during a voyage to Antartica, killing an American woman, are now speaking out, saying a "wall of seawater" came onto the vessel. The "rogue wave incident" occurred during a storm on Tuesday – when the Viking Polaris cruise ship was heading towards Ushuaia, Argentina, the company said in an Thursday update. The force of the massive wall of water sent passengers flying and smashed several exterior windows, which flooded some rooms and caused further structural damage inside. A 62-year-old American woman, Sheri Zhu, was killed by injuries sustained from the broken glass and four other people received non-life-threatening injuries, according to Australian news site ABC News. One person died and four others were injured after a giant "rogue wave" hit an Antarctica-bound cruise ship, travel company Viking said. One person died and four others were injured after a "rogue wave" hit the Viking Polaris cruise ship while it was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, on Tuesday night, officials said.

He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior, evolution and paleontology. His feature on the upcoming solar maximum was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence in 2023. Neither the statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown. The Viking Polaris was launched in 2022 and is the newest ship in the company's fleet. Neither the Viking statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown.

Across the fleet, there are thorough operational protocols in place and we always prioritize the safety of those onboard,” HX said. Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said. The ship was in the North Sea at the time, in an area hit by a storm late Thursday with hurricane-force gusts forecast to continue Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said according to Reuters. "The situation is stable, the ship has propulsion and they are able to navigate the ship manually via emergency systems," the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said in a statement Friday local time. "At the time that it happened, we personally wondered if, you know, we knew that we weren't by any icebergs, but it's like, did we hit an iceberg? It just was so sudden."

Viking said in a statement on its website that it's investigating the wave incident and is committed to the safety and security of all guests and crew. The death on the Viking Cruises ship this week comes after the death of two other cruise ship passengers in the Antarctic last month. Two Quark Expeditions cruise ship passengers died after one of the ship’s heavy duty inflatable Zodiac boats overturned near shore, Seatrade Cruise News reported. The passengers were hurt after a large, unpredictable wave hit the ship, which was traveling toward the Antarctic, Viking Cruises said. "At this time, the ship has confirmed that no serious passenger or crew injuries have been sustained as a result of the incident and the condition of the ship remains stable," the statement said. There were no serious injuries among guests or crew members aboard the MS Maud vessel, operated by HX, formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions.

Scientists are still trying to figure out how and when these uncommon waves form. Viking Cruises did not say how the passenger was killed or provide the passenger’s name. The four passengers who were injured were treated by onboard medical staff and had non-life-threatening injuries, Viking Cruises said. The ship is now sailing to Bremerhaven, Germany, where those on board will disembark.