Navy helps evacuate stricken ship

HMS Endurance carries out a number of roles in the region

A Hampshire-based Royal Navy vessel has taken 58 crew members to safety from a stricken cruise liner in the Antarctic.

The ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was scrambled to help with the evacuation of the Norwegian ship MS Nordkapp.

The cruise liner was damaged as it passed through Neptune's Bellows at Deception Island off the Antarctic peninsula.

The Endurance took the crew to King George Island while the passengers were transferred to the MS Nordnorge.

Damage assessed

No-one was believed to have been injured in the accident.

The Navy spokesman said: "One of HMS Endurance's Lynx helicopters was sent ahead to establish the level of assistance required, and once the British ship arrived her seaboat was sent to rendezvous with the cruise ship.

"Events such as the damage sustained by MS Nordkapp highlight the importance of HMS Endurance's surveying role within the Antarctic."

He added that Nordkapp, which made its own way to Maxwell Bay, would remain at anchor until a full assessment of its damage was carried out and Endurance would resume its normal programme in the region.

Endurance carries out a number of roles in the Antarctic, including supporting four of the eight British Antarctic Survey (BAS) core scientific projects and carrying out hydrographic surveying.