ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS
Tourism Industry |
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
ANAN 58
Wednesday, 7 November 2001
News in this edition:
58-01. Reduction in ships and voyages heralds fall in Peninsula sea-based tourists.
58-02. Ross Sea tourist operations similar to last season.
58-03. Lower Ushuaia visitor numbers anticipated.
58-04. Society acquires ship, but 2001-02 season cancelled.
58-05. Initial 'Explorer' voyage cut due to engine problems.
58-06. Skiers and snow-boarders, adjust plans as weather makes its mark.
58-07. Start of fly-cruise ops deferred; 2002-03 plans truncated.
58-08. Antarctica features at World Tourism Convention.
58-09. South Georgia filming and climbing focus for two 'Pelagic' voyages.
58-10. Yachts 'Gambo', Arctos', commence their journeys.
58-11. Plateau traverse southwards from Charlotte Bay proposed.
58-12. Web-based ship-reporting system on line.
58-13. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
REDUCTION IN SHIPS AND VOYAGES HERALDS FALL IN PENINSULA SEA-BASED TOURISTS
[ANAN-58/01]
A slightly smaller number of tourist vessels is expected to operate fewer total voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula region during the 2001-02 austral summer compared with last season, although those reductions are unrelated to concerns about the word security situation (ANAN-56/01, 26 September 2001). Preliminary information collated for the coming season suggests that even if passenger loads can be maintained at the level of the last few years, the number of tourists who actually set foot in the Peninsula area could fall to around 10,500, the lowest figure since 1998-99.
The sea-based tourist season in the Peninsula area opens tomorrow with the departure of the 'Clipper Adventurer' from Ushuaia, Argentina, although some commercially operated yachts are already supporting adventure activities on South Georgia (see ANAN-58/06 and 58/09 following).
Three other ships, the ‘Professor Multanovskiy’, ‘Kapitan Dranitsyn’, and ‘Endeavour’ are due to start their seasons over the next week. By the end of this month, six other vessels (‘Akademic Ioffe’, ‘Explorer’, ‘Polar Pioneer’, ‘Professor Molchanov’, ‘Bremen’, and ‘Hanseatic’) will commence Antarctic tour operations in the South American sector, followed by ‘Polar Star’, ‘Vista Mar’ and ‘Grigory Mikheev’ in December.
The two large vessels that are to visit the Peninsula region this season, ‘Marco Polo’ and ‘Ryndam’, do not leave their gateway ports until 31 December and 5 January respectively.
While the situation could still change, at this time it appears that fifteen tour ships could conduct around 114 voyages in the South American sector over the four months to early March; two ships and around 30-35 voyages fewer than 2000-01. Additional voyages will also be undertaken by an as yet unknown number of yachts.
The reduction in ship and voyage numbers is due primarily to the absence of three ships that were to have operated in the South American sector this season: 'Lyubov Orlova', 'Mariya Yermolova', and the new 'World Discover'. In addition, several companies that are still planning to operate ships this season had already cancelled a few of their planned voyages well prior to 11 September. In one case, an early season voyage was lost due to engine problems (see ANAN-58/05 following).
'Orlova', 'Yermolova', and 'Discover' between them were to have conducted twenty-eight voyages and had the capacity to carry in the order of 3,000 passengers at normal load levels. The first two operations were cancelled in June when Canadian tour company Marine Expeditions failed (ANAN-49/01, 20 June 2001), and World Discoverer's season was abandoned last week after delays were experienced in acquiring the vessel in time for commencement of tourist activities (see ANAN-58/04 following).
Of the 114 voyages by ships known to be planned for the South American sector, 78, or close to two-thirds of the total, involve journeys that are limited to the Antarctic Peninsula and the nearby South Shetland Islands. Another 32 that are bound for the Peninsula also include a visit to South Georgia, while four are to focus entirely on that island alone. The data suggest an increased proportion of tours that include South Georgia on their itineraries: one-third of voyages visiting there, up eight per cent on the proportion of the last two completed seasons (ANAN-34/07, 8 November 2000).
Only one scheduled voyage is to travel outside the Peninsula, South Georgia, region; next week’s first voyage by the icebreaker 'Kapitan Dranitsyn' is heading to the South Sandwich Islands and Weddell Sea regions. Prime target of that voyage is the Emperor penguin colonies along the Crown Princess Martha Coast of Dronning Maud Land.
Thirteen of the fifteen ships fall into the International Association of Antarctica Tourism's (IAATO) new Category 1 (vessels with the capacity to carry up to 200 passengers), two into Category 2 (200-500 passengers), while only one, the 'Ryndam' which will not land its passengers in Antarctica, rates as Catergory 3 as it carries greater than 500 passengers (ANAN-47/01, 23 May 2001). IAATO introduced the new range of categories for its member companies last July (ANAN-51/02, 18 July 2001).
'Ryndam' could potentially carry well over 1,000 passengers on its two planned Peninsula voyages, a number which when added to the total who could set foot in the area, could bring to around 11-12,000 the number of tourists who experience the Peninsula area by sea in 2001-02.
Seven ports will act as gateways for Antarctic tourist operations in the South American sector over the next four months, with Ushuaia, Argentina, again receiving the largest number of ship visits and passengers (see ANAN-58/03 following).
Ship-based tourist operations in the Ross Sea region during the coming austral summer are expected to continue at levels similar to those undertaken in 2000-01. Three ships, the 'Kapitan Khlebnikov', 'Akademic Shokalski' and 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' are currently scheduled to conduct a total of six voyages into the Ross Sea between mid-December and late February.
If normal passenger load levels are achieved, 350-400 tourists could visit the Ross Sea on those vessels during the season, while they, and a further 80-90, will also make landings on sub-Antarctic Auckland, Campbell and Macquarie Islands south of New Zealand.
'Khlebnikov' will visit the Ross Sea first, in early December, the prime attraction of that voyage being the opportunity to visit Emperor penguin colonies that are located along the north-western shore of Victoria Land. Its sister ship, 'Kapitan Dranitsyn', is scheduled to conduct a similar visit in Weddell Sea region later this month (see ANAN-58/01 preceeding). Khlebnikov's second and third voyages in early and late January are expected to involve visits to United States and New Zealand national program stations on Ross Island. The Dry Valleys are also on the itinerary and would be reached using the ship's two helicopters if weather conditions allow.
Shokalskiy's two Ross Sea voyages are to occur in mid-January and February respectively, while 'Wilkins' visit there is timed for the first half of February. All three voyages propose visits to the Ross Island region. 'Shokalskiy' will also undertake two sub-Antarctic only voyages in the month from 22 November, while 'Wilkins' is expected to visit the George V and Adelie Land areas around New Year (ANAN-54/04, 29 August 2001). A single yacht visit to George V Land by the 'Spirit of Sydney' is also expected in January-February (ANAN-51/10, 18 July 2001).
In the Indian Ocean sector only the French national program vessel 'Marion Dufrense' appears likely to carry a small number of tourists to the sub-Antarctic islands of Crozet, Kergulen and Amsterdam and Saint Paul (ANAN-7/05, 27 October 1999).
Ushuaia, Argentina, is set to easily retain its position as the busiest tourist gateway to Antarctica in 2001-02 according to preliminary data available for the season. Despite this, the number of Antarctic visitors there are expected to fall due to the reduction in the number of voyages being conducted in the South American sector over the next four months (see ANAN-58/01 preceding).
Available data suggest that just over ninety Antarctic voyages could leave from, or arrive at, Ushuaia over the next four months, and that around 9,000-9,500 tourists on those trips could pass through the port during that time. That level is similar to the visitor figures for 1998-99, which is down twenty per cent on 2000-01, and thirty per cent below the record number of 12,967 set in 1999-2000 (ANAN-51/06, 18 July 2001).
Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, is expected to be the second busiest Antarctic tourist port in the South American sector with fourteen voyages leaving or arriving from there, and a further twenty-five making day visits during trips to or from the Peninsula and the islands of the Scotia Arc. Information available suggests that 1,200-1,500 people could visit Stanley to join or leave Antarctic tour ships, while several thousand more will travel to the town and other outlying parts of the Falklands while passing through. An additional 1,500-2,000 tourists may also visit the capital briefly during two visits on the large cruise ship 'Ryndam' when it is on the way to and from the Peninsula region (ANAN-47/01, 23 May 2001).
Other gateway ports for tourists in the South American area are likely to see a lower number of Antarctic tour ships and their passengers than Ushuaia or Stanley. For most, two is the maximum number of ship visits that can be expected: Valpariso, Chile, possibly seeing around 1,000 passengers; Rio de Janiero, Brazil, 500-800; Buenos Aires, Argentina about 550; and Punta Arenas, Chile, 300-400. The only other port to be used as a gateway by tour ships operating in the South American sector is Cape Town, South Africa, where three ships are expected to arrive at the end of the season with a total of 350-450 passengers on board.
In Australasia, where gateway ports serve the Ross Sea and adjacent region, tour ship visits and passenger numbers are expected to be very small. Hobart, Australia, should see five Antarctic tour ship arrivals and departures involving 180-250 tourists; Bluff, New Zealand, two ship calls involving 80-90 passengers; while Lyttleton and Dunedin are to receive one Antarctic tour ship visit each and between 100-150 associated tourists.
United States-based Society Expeditions, which has, during the past year, been seeking to purchase the vessel 'Dream 21' for tour operations, announced last week that arrangements to acquire the ship have finally been completed and the vessel now flies their flag. The ship still has to undergo a four-month, $US10m, refit before it is ready for service, and as a result the company has been forced to cancel its entire season of Antarctic operations for the second year in a row.
Society has been without a ship since April last year when its long-serving tour vessel 'World Discoverer' was lost after it struck an unchartered rock in the south-west Pacific (ANAN-25/05, 5 July 2000). The prolonged negotiations to acquire 'Dream 21' followed an unsuccessful attempt to buy another vessel in June last year, a situation that ultimately led to cancellation of 2000-01 operations in Antarctica (ANAN-29/01, 30 August 2000).
What appeared to be the imminent purchase of 'Dream 21' was announced by the company last January. At that time the ship, which was to be given the name of its predecessor, was to have commenced operations with the company in May. This was later deferred to August (ANAN-47/02, 23 May 2001) and then to November (ANAN-53/02, 15 August 2001).
Company President Michael Lomax said last week that "unanticipated delays" in transferring ownership of the vessel to his company from its previous owners, Samsung Industries of South Korea, together with "extended complications [that are] normally associated with such acquisitions", led to the delays that occurred.
Samsung Industries spent $US25m in 1997 converting the 6,000-tonne ship for overnight passenger, or ferry, service. Most of the time that negotiations were underway, 'Dream 21' was tied up in the Sambawang ship yard in South Korea.
Society's $US10m refit of the twelve-year-old vessel, which is additional to the work carried out by Samsung, was commenced last week in Sambawang. Work scheduled over the next four months includes replacement of all passenger cabins with larger staterooms and suites, many with French patios and verandas, as well as the remodelling of all public rooms. State-of-the-art electronics are being incorporated into passenger features, and new facilities will be added to handle and launch the twelve 'Zodiacs', and glass-bottom excursion boat that the ship is to carry.
The latest renovations were designed by Norwegian marine architects Peter Yran and Bjorn Storbraaten who also designed the up-market ships of the Seabourn Cruise Line. Society says that it expects its new vessel to offer passenger comfort and features comparable to the Seabourn ships. Sebourn vessels do not operate in Antarctica, although the company looked at the possibility last year (ANAN-33/05, 25 October 2000).
The 160-passenger new 'World Discoverer' is expected to commence operations in the South Pacific on 3 April next year, almost two years after the loss of the original ship. Over the following seven months it is scheduled to travel north through the Pacific, work in Russian far eastern and Alaskan waters during the northern summer of 2002, then return south through the Pacific in the lead up to 2002-03 Antarctic operations in November next year.
The company says that a catalogue detailing 2002-03 operations will be released in the next week or so. It is understood that seven voyages are planned with the new 'World Discoverer' in the South American sector between 20 November 2002 and 12 March 2003, a pattern similar to that operated by the original vessel in recent years and the same as had been planned for 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Engine problems discovered during routine maintenance have led to the cancellation of the first of ten voyages planned for the veteran tour ship 'Explorer' during the 2001-02 austral summer. The need to replace the engine delayed the ship's departure from dry dock and led directly to the cancellation, however, it is understood that the vessel will undertake the remaining nine voyages scheduled for it in the South American Antarctic sector over the next four months.
A spokesperson for the vessel's operators, the United States-based Explorer Shipping Corporation (ESC), told ANAN last week that 'Explorer' had gone into dry dock in the UK for a normal round of inspections in late August. After the fault was found, and an assessment made, the decision to replace the engine had quickly been made "for safety and service reasons". The nature of the engine problem or the cost of the work involved has not been disclosed.
The cancelled voyage was a seventeen-day charter that was to have visited South Georgia, the South Shetland Islands and the north-west Antarctic Peninsula region in the period 1-17 November. The departure and arrival port was to have been Stanley in the Falkland Islands. ESC says that while it regrets cancelling the voyage, it is "committed to operating safely and responsibly" and that it is "fully confident" that its vessel is now fully operational.
Explorer's first voyage of the season will now be another seventeen-day charter from Stanley to South Georgia for the US tour company Zegrahm Expeditions. The ship is scheduled to spend eight days visiting locations around the coast of the island between 23-30 November. Departure from Stanley is listed for 17 November, returning there on 3 December.
Members of the 'Beyond Endurance' expedition climbed and descended their first mountain on South Georgia last weekend, however, they have been forced to adjust the remainder of their program of activities after apparently loosing their tents in a severe storm on 2,375 m Mount Nordenskjold, the island's second highest peak.
According to the expedition's web site, over the four-day period from 31 October the six members of the venture trekked overland from Saint Andrews Bay and up the Nordenskjold Glacier to establish a camp with around six days of food and supplies below the base of the mountain. Soon after arriving there, winds reported to be have been of at least 50-60 knots buffeted the camp for a day, blowing down two of their three tents and forcing them to build the snow walls that they had constructed for protection even higher.
The ferocity of the winds appears to have surprised the group, all of whom have has significant mountain and remote area experience in many parts of the world. No details were provided as to just how and when their tents were lost. When the storm abated they climbed further up the mountain.
The morning of 2 November dawned clear and the storm had deposited a solid layer of snow, making conditions ideal for skiing and snow boarding. Leader Doug Stroup and Rick Armstrong climbed to an elevation of around 2,000m before skiing down the fifty-five degree face, while John Griber climbed to 2,100m and descended via snow board.
By last Sunday, the party was back on their support yacht 'Golden Fleece', and on Monday the craft was heading south-east down the coast to the area around the Salveson Range. There, the adventurers say that since they 'lost' their tents, they are 'probably going to ski out of the boat' from now on. At last report they were hoping to find 'some aesthetic ski and snowboard runs' in the vicinity of the coast.
It is not known why Nordenskjold, rather than their intended first target, 2,933 m high Mount Paget (South Georgia's highest peak), was chosen for their first major foray on the island (ANAN-57/01, 24 October 2001). Given the tent situation, Mount Paget, may no longer be on the expedition's agenda. 'Beyond Endurance' is expected to leave South Georgia or Stanley in the Falkland Islands on 'Golden Fleece' late this month. This story was prepared from daily audio messages provided by expedition members. Full transcipts of those messages are available on the expedition web site at http://www.xstreamclimb.com/.
The Chilean company Turismo Y Hoteles Jose Nogueira (THJN) has abandoned plans to conduct eleven fly-cruise voyages in the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2001-02 and has reduced the number of such operations proposed for 2002-03 to just five, well down on the twenty-three originally envisaged (ANAN-51/04, 18 July 2001).
THJN announced earlier this year that it planned to fly tourists from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Chile's national program airfield Teniente Marsh airfield on King George Island (KGI) using the slogan "Jump over the Drake Passage". The company indicated last week that it is waiting to see what impact current world security problems have on Antarctic tourism before moving fully ahead with the venture (ANAN-56/01, 26 September 2001).
Earlier this year, THJN was offering eleven six-day Antarctic visits in the eight-week period that commenced today, however, late last month all references to 2001-02 operations were removed from its web site (http://www.antarticaXXi.com). Despite that change, twenty-three fly-cruise voyages were still on offer for the four months commencing 1 November 2002, until last week when the number was reduced to five. These remaining voyages are currently scheduled in the period 1-26 December 2002.
The company's 'Antarctica 21' site has, since its inception last May, indicated that the tour vessel 'Grigoriy Mikheev', which is operated under charter from its Russian owners by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, is to be used for the proposed fly-cruise operation. Chartered Chilean Air Force Hercules aircraft would be used to fly tourists to and from KGI.
The southern Chilean Province of Magallanes indicated earlier this year that it sees THJN's fly-cruise activities as an important initiative in its hopes of wresting a greater share of the Antarctic Peninsula tourism market for its capital, Punta Arenas, from nearby Ushuaia in Argentina (ANAN-48/01, 6 June 2001 and ANAN-58/03 preceding).
Antarctic Tourism featured as one of the session themes at the World Tourism Convention (WTC) held in Hobart, Australia, last week. The Convention's title was 'Striking a New Balance - Exploring New Horizons' and it focussed on tourism into the 21st Century, particularly in the light of the aftermath of the events of 11 September (ANAN-56/01, 26 September 2001).
The Antarctic session, entitled 'Antarctic Tourism - Where are the limits?' was addressed by three keynote speakers - Dr Thomas Bauer, Associate Professor of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Denise Landau, Executive Secretary of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO); and Dr Lorne Kriwoken, Lecturer in Antarctic Tourism and Coordinator for the Centre for Environmental Studies at the University of Tasmania, Australia.
Dr Bauer provided an overview of the limits of Antarctic tourism, including climatic constraints, availability of suitable ice-capable ships, tourist infrastructure, site availability and 'carrying capacity', the relatively limited range of potential tourist activities, and restricted numbers of suitably qualified and/or experienced personnel to conduct Antarctic tourist activities.
The limits were further explored by Denise Landau who described the economic, psychological, logistical, operational and regulatory limits associated with Antarctic tourism. Ms Landau also provided an overview of the history of Antarctic tourism, including the genesis and operation of IAATO, and recent changes to its membership categories (ANAN-51/01, 18 July 2001).
The third speaker, Dr Kriwoken, outlined the linkages and limits of Antarctic tourism from the perspective of Hobart, which has a long historic association with Antarctic activities. This association includes links with expeditions of the 'heroic' era, the presence of several Antarctic research institutions there, and its status as a gateway-port for the Ross Sea and East Antarctic region.
Over 350 people from twenty-five nations attended the WTC. Information on the Convention is available on line at: http://www.worldtourismconvention.com.
SOUTH GEORGIA FILMING ANDCLIMBING FOCUS FOR TWO 'PELAGIC' VOYAGES
[ANAN-58/09]
Two voyages of the commercially operated sailing vessel 'Pelagic', operated by UK-based Pelagic Expeditions, are to be made to sub-Antarctic South Georgia in 2001-02 in support of separate filming and climbing expeditions. Both ventures, which are scheduled to last six weeks each, involve support for four to five expedition members, the first group from Spain and the second from Wales in the UK.
An un-named four-man party from Transglobe Films, a natural history production house based in Madrid, Spain, left Stanley in the Falkland Islands on the 'Pelagic' on 27 October. They plan to spend most of November visiting major wildlife sites around the coast of South Georgia to film for a television documentary being prepared on the island's animals and environment. 'Pelagic' is due to return to Stanley with them on 7 December.
The 16.5 m yacht's second voyage to South Georgia is to leave Stanley on 29 December. A climbing party led by Caradoc Jones, the first Welshman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, is targeting the summits of Mount Paulsen, Marikoppa and the Three Brothers, all of which have not yet been climbed. Paulsen is 1,847m high, Marikoppa 1,811m, and the Three Brothers actually have four summits that are 1,466, 1,783, 1,837 and 2,008m above sea level.
Jones' companions for the ascents will be Skip Novak, the owner of 'Pelagic', and cameraman Al Hughes. They plan to make a film of the venture for airing next year on the Welsh language television channel S4C, and possibly other outlets around the world.
Jones has climbed previously on both South Georgia and in the Antarctic Peninsula. He reached the summit of the island's highest peak, 2,933m Mount Paget, in what was only the third successful attempt, during the period he was Harbour Master there in 1993. He has also climbed in the area around the Lemaire Channel of the Peninsula early in 1996, an expedition that used 'Pelagic' as its base. Novak climbed Paget in 1995 and has numerous Peninsula-area climbs to his credit including the 1996 expedition with Jones to Cape Renard. Al Hughes has also been on board 'Pelagic' previously, taking part in a 1997 voyage to the Peninsula as 'climbing cameraman' to shoot a film that was later released by the United States television channel ESPN.
During the time the climbers are making their attempts on the peaks, Welsh bird biologist Iolo Williams, together with another cameraman and the sailing crew, will visit sites along the north-east coast of South Georgia to film wildlife. 'Pelagic' is to return to Stanley with the party around 8 February.
YACHTS 'GAMBO', 'ARCTOS', COMMENCE THEIR JOURNEYS
[ANAN-58/10]
Two yachts, one of Canadian registry and the other Australian, left ports in Australasia last week at the commencement of planned operations in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. 'Gambo', a fifteen-metre ketch, set out from Lyttleton, New Zealand, for Ushuaia, Argentina, for a planned three-year research and adventure cruise, while 'Arctos', a 16.5m craft of new design, left Hobart, Australia, for the same destination at the start of a proposed six-month circumnavigation of Antarctica.
'Gambo', which has undergone a major refit in Lyttleton over the last six months, started its journey to Ushuaia last Thursday with four on board. They anticipate arriving in the southern Argentine port sometime around 12 December. The craft is being used to support the Antarctic Convergence Zone Project (ACZP), a non-government research program that involves visiting glaciers, ice caps and glacierised islands in the Antarctic Peninsula and Antarctic Convergence Zone regions (ANAN-48/03, 6 June 2001).
In addition, ACZP organisers plan to conduct a variety of "complementary" adventure objectives in the Antarctic Peninsula region, including mountaineering, kayaking and scuba operations, as well as what is called a "sustained ski-traverse" along part of the Peninsula's plateau. The latter may be undertaken northwards from the Darbel Bay area to the north-east of Adelaide Island south of where a UK-organised expedition plans to work (see ANAN-58/11 following). Full details of the ACZP's traverse and the other adventure pursuits mentioned by organisers have not yet been released. The expedition says that it is awaiting the outcome of an application for funds from the Mount Everest Foundation (MEF) before outlining its plans in full.
'Gambo' is expected to leave Ushuaia for the Peninsula area towards the end of December and return there in mid-March for the austral winter of 2002.
The Australian-registered yacht 'Arctos' left Hobart last Saturday bound for Wellington, New Zealand, and Ushuaia, Argentina, to start its planned six-month circumnavigation of the globe; most of the journey being in sub-Antarctic waters (ANAN-56/04, 26 September 2001). The 16.5m yacht, which is operated commercially by Australian company Ocean Frontiers, has eight on board for the trip to Ushuaia.
'Arctos' is expected to spend around a month transiting sub-Antarctic waters between New Zealand and South America and is scheduled to arrive in Ushuaia around 9 December. Nine or ten people are expected to be on the yacht for a planned week-long visit to South Georgia at the end of December. Time is to be spent around the coast of Kerguelen in the south Indian Ocean in late March, while a visit to the vicinity of Heard Island is also possible around that time.
Ocean Frontiers' yacht is expected to arrive back in Hobart in late April 2002. The company's principal, Don McIntyre, told ANAN over the weekend that Arctos' visit to sub-Antarctic waters will be the last time his company plans to operate a sailing vessel in high southern latitudes, their focus after that being on operations of the thirty-seven metre ice-strengthened ship 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' (see ANAN-58/03 preceding and ANAN-54/04, 29 August 2001).
McIntyre's company has significant sailing experience in Antarctic waters, having organised eight commercially-operated voyages of its nineteen-metre yacht 'Spirit of Sydney' to Cape Denison in George V Land in the seven years prior to its sale last July (ANAN-51/10, 18 July 2001). On three occasions the vessel supported wintering operations there (ANAN-8/05, 10 November 1999).
PLATEAU TRAVERSE SOUTHWARDS FROM CHARLOTTE BAY PROPOSED
[ANAN-58/11]
Organisers of a UK expedition will attempt a traverse along part of the spine of the Antarctic Peninsula from Charlotte Bay on the Danco Coast in January. They hope to head south along what is called the 'Forbidden Plateau' to collect geological samples from any exposed rock they find. They will then attempt to return to sea level and rejoin their yacht further south than their starting point, although those involved warn that weather, travelling conditions and lack of a suitable place to descend, may force them to retrace their steps back to Charlotte Bay.
The adventure group, which is made up mainly of serving British Army personnel and is called the British Army Antarctic Expedition (BAAE), plans to climb to plateau level along the long ridge that runs from Portal Point at the northern end of Charlotte Bay (ANAN-55/02, 12 September 2001). That ridge was used by a UK national program expedition in 1957 to descend to sea level after an eight-week journey along the northern part of the plateau from Hope Bay (ANAN-33/08, 25 October 2000). The route was also to have been used again last austral summer by a private, two-man, Australian expedition that was attempting a similar trek but which did not get that far south (ANAN-41/01, 14 February 2001). The trek south from Charlotte Bay was suggested to the BAAE by Sir Wally Herbert, the leader of the 1957 party, who was guest of honour at a dinner earlier this year in the lead up to the launch of the expedition.
After it climbs the Portal Point ridge to plateau level, BAAE's traverse party plans to extend the 1950s traverse southwards as far as is feasible, given the weather and other circumstances that prevail at the time. The plateau in that area is around 1,900 m above sea level and is frequently shrouded in cloud. A separate, unrelated, expedition that left New Zealand last week has indicated that it may undertake a similar journey northwards along the plateau from the Darbel Bay area to the south. It is unlikely that the two groups will encounter each other on the plateau (see ANAN-58/10 preceding).
Tim Hall, a spokesman for the BAAE who was a member of the 1984-85 Joint Services Expedition to nearby Brabant Island, said recently that given the nature of the climb to plateau level and the weather conditions that are anticipated, it is "unlikely" that the party will be able to travel very far southwards from Charlotte Bay as they will probably only be able to haul "a limited amount of food and fuel" up from sea level. Hall commented that, since its inception, the BAAE has been "very careful" not to publish specific aims for the traverse as "the weather will dictate what we do, and therefore ultimately achieve". He also said that the ethos of the expedition group is built around adventure training for young service personnel and that "it would be a shame for [any] achievement to be subsequently labelled as a failure because of a misguided ambition to climb something".
The BAAE is using a twenty-four-metre steel-hulled ketch named 'John Laing' to support its program. The yacht is currently being sailed from the UK to Stanley in the Falkland Islands by army and civilian volunteers. The 'Antarctic Crew' is to take over the yacht in Stanley in the next few weeks and they expect to depart for the Antarctic Peninsula around 26 November.
In addition to its work in the Danco Coast region, the BAAE also hopes to visit the Elephant Island area to collect samples for geologists at the University of Brighton (in the UK) from the area around the Shackleton Fault. If conditions allow, a climbing group may attempt an ascent of Mount Pendragon. Some limited ornithological work may also be carried out for comparison with data collected in the Elephant Island group by the 1970-71 and 1976-77 UK Joint Services Expeditions.
Further details of the BAAE, including daily reports of its activities and other facets of its planned program, are available on line at: http://www.baae.org.uk
A new web-based ship reporting system that can provide up-to-date information on the position of participating ships and other vessels operating in Antarctic waters south of Latitude 60° was established by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) late last month. The system, whose primary role is to provide ship information in an emergency, is the first of its kind in the Antarctic region. Access to it is available to authorised government and non-government operators.
The Ship Position Reporting System (SPRS) was set up as a result of concerns in a number of countries about the difficulty of obtaining information about available ships in an area where an emergency has occurred, whether that incident is at sea, or in adjacent coastal areas. SPRS was designed to provide those responsible for any rescue or search action with almost instant information on vessel locations. It was developed after consultation with national program personnel, a number of maritime safety organisations, and ship's officers.
Access to the on line data-base is password protected, however, those authorised to enter can choose to look at any one of eight, evenly-spaced, sectors around the coast of Antarctica below latitude 60°. On entering the area of interest on the site, users can see participating ships displayed as a red or blue triangle in the correct location on a map of the sector they have chosen.
On 'double clicking' a ship's 'triangle', a variety of information on the vessel is displayed, including its name, nationality, the Universal Time (UTC) of its last report, the latitude and longitude at that time, as well as its then heading. Telephone, facsimile and other contact information for the vessel are also provided automatically from the data-base. Details of any continental or island stations in the particular sector being examined are also shown, with built in links providing communications and other information for these land-based facilities.
Information is sent to the SPRS data base from ships, yachts or other craft via E-mail, up-dated positions generally being processed and displayed automatically around five minutes after they are received. The information must be sent in a standard format in order that the computer can read and display it in an appropriate manner.
Because of the range of time zones around the continent there is no standard UTC reporting time. Most vessels, however, normally report their positions to their Head Offices once per day at a set time, and the dispatch of a message to the COMNAP system at the same time is therefore expected to be a straight-forward task.
It is not known how many vessels currently contribute to the system, although this early in the season only a handful of ships are operating in Antarctic waters. Over the next month, however, the number of ships will increase significantly, particularly those involved in tourist operations (see ANAN-58/01 preceding). No details are currently available as to whether they or any other non-government vessels are planning to take part in the system during the 2001-02 austral summer.
Details of the Ship Position Reporting System and information on how to contribute to it are available by going to the COMNAP web site at http://www.comnap.aq/ then clicking the 'SPRS' button.
COMING EVENTS RELEVANT TO NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
[ANAN-58/13]
Please forward notice of events via e-mail to: tourism@aad.gov.au. Up-dates are made to ANAN's web site at http://www.antdiv.gov.au/goingsouth/tourism/Research/BibConf/Confer/default.asp as soon as new information comes to hand.
YEAR 2001
12-16 November (Wilton Park, U.K.)
Conference: "40 Years On: The Antarctic Treaty System in the 21st Century".
articipation by invitation only.
14 December (London, U.K.)
Inaugural meeting of the South Georgia Association.
Contact: stephen.palmer@fish.co.uk.
YEAR 2002
4-11 January (South Geographic Pole)
High Plateau Marathon.
Contact: general@adventure-network.com
2 March (King George Island, Antarctica)
Fifth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan).
Last week of June [Dates/location to be set] (Europe).
IAATO year 2002 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
15-26 July (Shanghai, China).
XXVII SCAR (Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research).
15-26 July (Shanghai, China)
COMNAP XIV (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).
3-14 September (Warsaw, Poland)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXV
YEAR 2003
July [Dates to be set] (Seattle, United States).
IAATO year 2003 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
23 November (Queen Mary and Dronning Maud Land regions).
Total solar eclipse (See ANAN-3/08, 1 September 1999).
Next edition issued on Wednesday, 14 November 2001 @ 0600 UTC.
Deadline for items: Sunday, 11 November 2001 @ 2359 UTC.
ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS (ANAN)
ANAN's aim is to provide a periodic summary of non-government activities in Antarctica. It is prepared from contributions from company, governmental, academic and private individuals with an interest in this area of endeavour on or around the southern-most continent.
EDITOR: Dave Moser (David.Moser@aad.gov.au).
POSTAL: Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia 7054
TELEPHONE: +61-3-6232-3347 (2200-0600 UTC).
FACSIMILE: +61-3-6232-3357.
RESEARCH/WRITING: Martin Betts (Martin.Betts@aad.gov.au)
TELEPHONE/FACSIMILE: +61-3-6267-4790 (2200-1100 UTC).
FACSIMILE: +61-3-6232-3500.