IAATO Members work together to develop, adopt and implement operational standards that mitigate potential environmental impacts. IAATO is a member organization founded in 1991 to advocate, promote and practice safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic. It follows joint initiatives with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Ushuaia, Argentina and MRCC Chile in 20 respectively. This was the third Search and Rescue Exercise to be conducted by IAATO and its members. Heritage Expedition’s vessel, Spirit of Enderby, was among a number of resources tasked with going to Ortelius to assist. In the scenario, the ship MV Ortelius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, reported an engine room fire that caused a temporary loss of power and eight casualties among the fire fighting crew, three of which required medical evacuation. “RCCNZ has a well-developed SAR Response Plan for the Antarctic, underpinned by the strong relationships established with the National Antarctic Programmes and the many government and non-government organizations that may be asked to assist in a SAR operation.” It is important for all organizations operating in the Antarctic to understand that this scenario could happen to any vessel, and in these cases it is critical that vessels nearby, as well as SAR authorities ashore, are rapidly alerted so they can assist in a coordinated SAR operation with minimum delay.” While thorough risk assessment and prevention plans will reduce the likelihood of such events, situations can occur on board vessels that are beyond the crew’s ability to resolve without external SAR assistance. Live exercises like this one are valuable for training, fine tuning our protocols and strengthening important working relationships.”ĭave Wilson, responsible at RCCNZ for Antarctic SAR planning said “This was a challenging and realistic scenario, as each element was taken from real SAR operations coordinated within the Ross Sea region. ”In the rare event of an incident occurring, IAATO’s role is to communicate effectively with member operators and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre involved. IAATO Operations and Environmental Manager, Tudor Morgan said, “Collaboration is key to any search and rescue effort so this was a fantastic opportunity to test our communication procedures with RCCNZ and demonstrate our shared commitment to safety in the Southern Ocean. Potential assets within the search and rescue region that could be tasked with assisting, including other IAATO vessels, were also evaluated, according to a released statement. This was a table-top exercise with live components the intent being to test existing protocols, contingency plans and lines of communication between the ship in distress, RCCNZ and IAATO. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and two member operators, Oceanwide Expeditions and Heritage Expeditions, took part in a live Search and Rescue (SAR) Exercise in collaboration with Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) on Feb. There are 11 Zodiacs on board, maximising time spent on shore and wildlife opportunities.Heritage Expedition’s vessel, Spirit of Enderby, was among a number of resources tasked with going to Ortelius to assist. On board there are also two restaurants, a bar/lecture room and a sauna.
Mv ortelius antarctica plus#
Alongside the expedition team that is made up of an expedition leader plus 5 guides/lecturers, the ship is manned by 34 extremely experienced Russian nautical crew, 15 international catering staff and a doctor. The ship has plenty of open-deck spaces as well as a large bridge accessible to passengers. Cabins range from quadruple and triple cabins with portholes and both upper and lower berths, to twin porthole, window and deluxe cabins with lower berths only up to superior cabins which feature a double bed. The comfortable M/V Ortelius accommodates up to 116 passengers. Adept at navigating through solid one year sea-ice and loose multi-pack ice, this ship is ideally suited to reaching more remote locations such as the Ross Sea. It is named after the Flemish cartographer and geographer, Abraham Ortelius, who also created the first modern atlas. With its origins in Poland, the M/V Ortelius now plies the waters of the Antarctic and Arctic as an ice-strengthened Polar expedition vessel.
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