MV Explorer (1969)

MS Explorer or MV Explorer was a Liberian-registered cruise ship, used for Antarctic cruising. She was the first cruise ship to sink there, after striking an iceberg on 23 November 2007. All passengers and crew were rescued. The ship was commissioned and operated by the Swedish explorer Lars-Eric Lindblad. Its 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica was the forerunner for today's sea-based tourism in that region. The vessel was originally named MS Lindblad Explorer (until 1985), and MS Society Explorer (until 1992). Ownership of the vessel changed several times, the last owner being the Toronto-based travel company Gap Adventures which acquired Explorer in 2004. 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. Explorer was stated by the Chilean Navy to have sunk at an approximate position of 62°24′S 57°16′W, between the South Shetlands and Grahams Land in the Bransfield Strait; where the depth is roughly 600 metres (2,000 ft). The Royal Navy Antarctic Patrol Ship Endurance, whilst carrying out a hydrographic survey for the British Antarctic Survey and at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, later pinpointed Explorer's final resting place as 62°24′18″S 57°11′46″W, at an approximate depth of 1,130 metres (3,710 ft) – a distance of 4,373 m (14,350 ft) from her reported sinking position. This is broadly consistent with the direction of the prevailing current.