Passengers distraught after inaugural ￡12,000 luxury cruise to Antarctica ends early due to engine failure

The inaugural Antarctic voyage of luxury expedition cruise ship Silver Cloud has been cancelled due to mechanical problems after less than a week at sea, leaving guests distraught at losing the opportunity to explore the White Continent.

The ship had been scheduled to visit the Falkland Islands, the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula on its 16-day expedition between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, with passengers paying from ￡12,100 per person for a place on board. 

Its itinerary has already been hit by bad weather. Silver Cloud was scheduled to depart Buenos Aires on Wednesday November 15, sailing south to Puerto Madryn, nearest port to Peninsula Valdes, a wildlife-rich Unesco World Heritage site on the coast of Argentine Patagonia. However, forecasts of severe winds of over 30-40 knots and swells exceeding 6-8m delayed departure from the Argentine capital by a day, during which time the expedition leader Kara Weller announced that Stanley, the Falklands capital, would be omitted from the itinerary.

After two days sailing through heavy seas to Puerto Madryn, the ship again waited in port for a break in the forecasted storms. At that point Captain Adam Boczek hoped to slip between an unprecedented sequence of heavy storms sweeping around the Southern Ocean that mitigated against safe passage across the infamously rough Drake Passage to Antarctica.

Silver Cloud sailed south on the afternoon of November 20, but after just a few hours at sea a fuel pump failed and the engine cut out, leaving the ship adrift – fortunately in relatively light seas: had the engine failed in the Drake Passage, the outcome might have been much more serious. Though engineers restored power after about an hour, the ship returned to Puerto Madryn for assessment and repair. On the evening of November 21, it became clear that the replacement fuel pump part would not be delivered in time to continue to Antarctica.

The engine cut out, leaving the ship adrift – fortunately in relatively light seas: had the engine failed in the Drake Passage, the outcome might have been more serious

Conrad Combrink, Senior Vice President of Silversea Expeditions expressed his disappointment at “failing our guests” as he announced the decision on the evening of November 21. “[After long delays caused by bad weather], this mechanical problem was a double whammy. For us it’s simple logic. We don’t want to send a ship when we are not 100% sure it’s ready. It’s a very simple fix, which will be completed within the next few days. But it makes no sense to hold people on the ship any longer. We will lose Antarctica, which was the primary focus of this voyage, and it’s not going to happen.”

Combrink confirmed that Silversea will provide full refunds to all passengers, as well as organising and paying for flights back to Buenos Aires and on to guests’ airports of origin. It also offered overnight accommodation and expenses in Buenos Aires, a refund of outward air fares, and a discount on future bookings.

The surreal life on board the world's largest cruise ship

The 514.14-foot, 16,800-tonne Silver Cloud, originally launched in 1994 as a luxury cruise vessel, underwent extensive refitting earlier this year to convert it for polar expedition voyages. During the 95-day refit at Palumbo Shipyard in Malta, a new reinforced and reshaped bow was fitted to render the ship ice-class. Among other technical improvements, the bridge was fitted with forward-facing sonar, ecosounders, thermal imaging, and infrared cameras for night ice navigation. Twenty new Zodiacs were loaded, along with a prototype gantry system allowing launches from what is for now the biggest luxury cruise ship converted for expeditions. Capacity was reduced from 298 guests to 254, just 200 in polar regions. All suites were completely refurbished (except for bathrooms) and many were enlarged.

Not all elements of the ship were ready for guests at the time of embarkation; problems included faulty electrical and plumbing systems in suites, as well as late opening of the Photo Studio, observation lounge and steam room.

“To be very honest, such things do happen after such a major conversion,” Combrink stated. “We had three months in dry dock, the systems were tested, the cabins were completely refurbished, electrical work was redone, plumbing was redone, piping was redone. As these things go into service, one can expect small defects. Considering the scope and scale of the work, I have to say we’ve come out pretty well.”

The reaction of Hazel Howard from London is fairly typical. She booked this cruise – her first with Silversea – largely on the basis of the itinerary. “I’ve always wanted to go to Antarctica,” she says. “It was very disappointing when were told that we weren’t going to the Falklands, which was the highlight of the holiday for me. And then it just went downhill from there. [Silversea staff] have been very accommodating but it’s very, very disappointing I’m very positive about the way it’s been dealt with, but I do think that the ship wasn’t ready, and shouldn’t have sailed when it did.”  

The next Silver Cloud voyage departs for Antarctica from Ushuaia on December 1.