Wednesday 9 December 2015

Le Boreal - update. Some charters cancelled

#expeditioncruising



ExpeditionCruising.com recently received this update from Ponant PR.

"Le Boréal has recently arrived (under tow) at the Punta Arenas shipyard where she is undergoing inspection to determine precisely what needs to be done and how long it will take. The works schedule is in the process of being finalised. To date, certain cruises marketed as charters have been cancelled however, to date, no cruises with individual passengers have been cancelled."

Certainly the scheduled Dec 10 departure has been cancelled and we all await advice on what  future sailings may also be effected.

Le Boreal sitting low at the stern during rescue
Observers who saw the BBC video noted that the vessel appeared to be listing and sitting low at the stern. It was suggested that this may have been a result of crew employing "boundary cooling", a method for preventing the spread of a serious fire in a contained area of the ship. This method requires large amounts of water which may upset the balance of the ship to a degree.

boundary cooling a shipboard fire
In any case, with combined efforts of the crew involved in fighting the fire and prompt arrival of Royal Navy rescuers, no injuries were reported and the ship was saved. That much is good news.


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