The 2,400-ton vessel was carrying 100 tourists from Britain, Canada, the United States and other countries, in addition to a crew of 50, but no injuries were reported. Photo: Chilean Navy, via Associated Press Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Nolan/SplashdownDirect / Rex Features
Passengers in Lifeboats Luxury Cruiseliner MV Explorer Sinking in the Antarctic Ocean, Near the South Shetland Islands - 23 Nov 2007 Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Nolan/SplashdownDirect / Rex Features
View from the deck of National Geographic Endevaour after all the passengers and crew members were saved.
Explorer cruise ship is seen sinking after it hit an object in Antarctic waters, Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Nolan/SplashdownDirect / Rex Features
In this photo provided by the Chile's Air Force, the Liberian-flagged Explorer cruise ship is seen sinking after it hit an object in Antarctic waters, Friday, Nov. 23, 2007, some 880 kilometers southeast of Ushuaia, the southernmost Argentine city. More than 150 passengers and crew took to lifeboats after the ship hit an object and began taking on water through a hole in the hull, naval and coast guard officials said. No injuries were reported. (AP Photo/Chile Air Force)
Heavily listing and most likely not able to recover Majestic cruise boat M/V Explorer
A webcam aboard the Nordnorge, a Norwegian liner, captured an image of the sinking Explorer, which had taken on water through a fist-size hole punched into the ship's starboard. Water flooded the grinding engine room and eventually caused a power failure. Photo: Cruise Norway, via Associated Press
Built in Finland in 1969, the Explorer was designed to operate in Antarctic and Arctic waters. It was small, to move swiftly through dangerous waters, and had a double bottom, a second layer of steel. But the vessel did not have a double hull, a complete second steel sheath, the kind developed after the sinking of the Titanic. Photo: Michael S. Nolan/Lindblad Expeditions
Shortly before the boat sank The Chilean navy said the entire MS Explorer finally slipped beneath the waves Friday evening, about 20 hours after the predawn accident near Antarctica's South Shetland Islands.
Empty bobbing lifeboats in Antarctic waters after their passengers had been plucked to safety. Photo: Chilean Navy, via Associated Press
Some of the rescued passangers
