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The MS ''Explorer'' was a Liberian-registered cruise ship designed for Arctic and Antarctic service, originally commissioned and operated by the Swedish explorer Lars-Eric Lindblad. Observers point to the ''Explorer's'' 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica as the frontrunner for today's sea-based tourism in that region.〔(Mar 28 – Hump Day ), British Antarctic Survey.〕〔(Scope of Antarctic Tourism — A Background Presentation ), IAATO official website.〕 The vessel was formerly known as the MS ''Lindblad Explorer'' (until 1985) and the MS ''Society Explorer'' (until 1992). Ownership of the vessel changed several times, the last owner being the Toronto-based travel company G.A.P Adventures which acquired the ''Explorer'' in 2004.〔 The ''Explorer'' was the first cruise ship used specifically to sail the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean, and the first to sink there when she struck an unidentified submerged object (USO) on 23 November 2007, reported to be ice, which caused a gash in the hull.〔 〕 The ''Explorer'' was abandoned in the early hours of 23 November 2007 after taking on water near the South Shetland Islands in the Southern Ocean, an area which is usually stormy but was calm at the time.〔 〕 The ''Explorer'' was confirmed by the Chilean Navy to have sunk at approximately position: 62° 24′ South, 57° 16′ West, between South Shetlands and Grahams Land, in the Bransfield Strait, where the depth is roughly 600 m.〔(MV EXPLORER Cruise Ship Sinking In South Atlantic ), The Shipping Times, 23 November 2007〕 The Royal Navy Antarctic Patrol Ship , at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office whilst carrying out a hydrographic survey for the British Antarctic Survey, later pinpointed the ''Explorers final resting place as 62° 24′ 17.57″ South, 57° 11′ 46.49″ West at an approximate depth of 1,130 m, a distance of 4,373 m from its reported sinking position. This is broadly consistent with the direction of the prevailing current.〔 〕 ==History== The ''Explorer'' was commissioned by Lars-Eric Lindblad, the Swedish-American pioneer of exotic expedition tours, and built in 1969 at Uudenkaupungin Telakka shipyard〔(フィンランド語:Uudenkaupungin telakka)〕 in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The ship was built to stay afloat with two compartments filled with water. Her original Finnish-Swedish ice class was 1C, which is relatively weak. It's not known when the ice class was uprated to 1A. The vessel was originally named the ''Lindblad Explorer'' after Lars-Eric Lindblad and was the first custom built ''expeditionary cruise ship''. On 11 February 1972, the ''Explorer'' ran aground near La Plaza Point, Antarctica; her passengers, Lars-Eric Lindblad among them, were rescued by the Chilean Navy.〔(Lars-Eric Lindblad, 67, Pioneer Of Tours to Exotic Destinations ), The New York Times, 13 July 1994.〕 She was towed to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then to Kristiansand, Norway, for repairs.〔(Erik Langeland )〕 On 25 December 1979, ''Lindblad Explorer'' ran aground off Vicky Island in the Antarctic. Of the 140 passengers and crew, 125 were rescued by the Chilean Navy icebreaker , leaving a skeleton crew of 15 on board to await the arrival of a tug. In 1984, the ''Explorer'' was the first cruise ship to navigate the Northwest Passage. In 1989, she was involved in the rescue of the crew of an Argentinian supply ship that had hit a rock ledge off Anvers Island, Antarctica. In 1998, the ''Explorer'' was the first ship to circumnavigate James Ross Island; and the same year, she is claimed to have been the first ship, as distinct from river boat, to sail above Iquitos, Peru, to the point where the Marañón and Ucayali rivers meet to become the Amazon River.〔(M/S Explorer )〕 The ''Explorer'' was depicted on at least two postage stamps issued by South Georgia and one issued by the Falkland Islands.〔(Philatelie Polaire ) South Georgia stamps.〕〔(Falkland Isles Stamp )〕 The ''Explorer'' was nicknamed the Little Red Ship. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MV Explorer (1969)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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