Table Of Content
- MORE: Passengers hurt aboard Norwegian cruise ship after unexpected wind strikes: I felt 'like we're going to die'
- US Citizen Killed When ‘Rogue' Wave Hit Viking Cruise Ship in Antarctic
- Viking Polaris passengers speak out after 'rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, killing American woman
- BBC News Services
"At the time that it happened, we personally wondered if, you know, we knew that we weren't by any icebergs, but it's like, did we hit an iceberg? It just was so sudden." The passenger killed was a U.S. citizen, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News Friday. A guest died following the incident, Viking said, though did not share further details on the cause of death. Beverly Spiker of California also told ABC News that a "huge smash" against the window of the cabin she and her husband were staying in caused the frame to shatter, adding, "A lot of water came shooting in."
MORE: Passengers hurt aboard Norwegian cruise ship after unexpected wind strikes: I felt 'like we're going to die'
It is currently unclear if the wave that hit the Viking Polaris qualifies as an official rogue wave because there is no accurate data on the wave height or the surrounding sea state. A storm was raging when the wave hit, CNN reported, which could have provided the necessary conditions for a rogue wave to form. Scientists often refer to rogue waves as extreme storm waves that surge out of nowhere, often in an unpredictable direction, and can look like a steep wall of water, up to twice the size of surrounding waves. "We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities," Viking said in a statement Thursday. "Our focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew, and we are working directly with them to arrange return travel." One woman was killed and at least four more were injured when a colossal rogue wave struck a cruise ship off the coast of Argentina last week.
US Citizen Killed When ‘Rogue' Wave Hit Viking Cruise Ship in Antarctic
One passenger was killed and four more injured after a "rogue wave" hit a cruise ship bound for Antarctica, travel company Viking has said. The Viking Polaris cruise ship was sailing toward Ushuaia in Argentina — the main starting point for expeditions to Antarctica — when there was "a rogue wave incident," a representative of the Viking cruise company said in a statement. "Rogues, called 'extreme storm waves' by scientists, are those waves which are greater than twice the size of surrounding waves, are very unpredictable, and often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves," the agency explains. One person died and four others were injured after a giant "rogue wave" hit an Antarctica-bound cruise ship, travel company Viking said. Rogue waves, or extreme storm waves, are uncommon, unpredictable and "greater than twice the size of surrounding waves," according to the National Ocean Service. The rogue wave shattered windows on the ship's bridge, which caused water to enter the vessel and resulted in a power outage, Reuters reported.
Viking Polaris passengers speak out after 'rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, killing American woman
The force of the massive wall of water sent passengers flying and smashed several exterior windows, which flooded some rooms and caused further structural damage inside. A 62-year-old American woman, Sheri Zhu, was killed by injuries sustained from the broken glass and four other people received non-life-threatening injuries, according to Australian news site ABC News. "We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities," the company said. Passengers onboard the Viking Polaris cruise ship that was hit by a "rogue wave" during a voyage to Antartica, killing an American woman, are now speaking out, saying a "wall of seawater" came onto the vessel.
However, Argentine news agency Telam said the dead passenger was an American woman who "received blows from a glass surface that collapsed in the middle of the storm". "We wondered if we hit an iceberg," Suzie Gooding, a passenger from North Carolina, told WRAL-TV. The Viking Polaris had been heading toward the Argentinian port city of Ushuaia en route to a cruise of Antarctica. The ship was able to arrive in port without further incident, but Viking said the Antarctic portion of the itinerary would be canceled.
Passengers on Antarctic cruise ship hit by deadly 'rogue wave' speak out
The Trusdales were passengers on the Viking Polaris cruise ship sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, when it was hit by a "rogue wave" last week, killing an American passenger, Sheri Zhu, and injuring four others. The "rogue wave incident" occurred during a storm on Tuesday – when the Viking Polaris cruise ship was heading towards Ushuaia, Argentina, the company said in an Thursday update. One person died and four others were injured after a "rogue wave" hit the Viking Polaris cruise ship while it was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, on Tuesday night, officials said. The ship is docked as passengers await further travel plans from Viking, according to Gooding, who said that two other ships in their bay in Ushuaia were also damaged, possibly by rogue waves. The ship sustained "limited damage" from the rogue wave and arrived in Ushuaia on Wednesday "without further incident," Viking said.
"I only had to go down a nearby flight of stairs to get to my muster station in the main restaurant, but the ship was tilting pretty violently. When it was all the way over to one side, you could just see a wall of water, no sky or anything," she told BI. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a rogue wave is a large and unexpected wave that can be very dangerous. “Following ongoing safety checks and technical assessments, given the weather conditions, we decided to amend the planned sailing route.
Norwegian cruise ship loses power after it was hit by rogue wave in North Sea - Yahoo News
Norwegian cruise ship loses power after it was hit by rogue wave in North Sea.
Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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The 202m (662ft) ship - which was completed this year - arrived in Argentina on Wednesday and had sustained "limited damage" after being struck by the wave, Viking said. "The situation started with the ship's horn sounding for an extremely long time, then the PA system came on, and we just heard scuffling and general moving around noises," Lawrence said. Then, passengers heard the alarm that meant they should head to their muster stations — the place on board where guests gather in case of an emergency.
"Rogue wave" kills American woman, injures four others on Antarctic cruise ship
Viking said in a statement on its website that it's investigating the wave incident and is committed to the safety and security of all guests and crew. A North Carolina couple aboard the ship told NBC affiliate WRAL that they thought "we hit an iceberg" when the wave crashed into the cruise ship. Rogue waves are freak waves that are at least twice as high as the surrounding sea state — the average height of the waves for a given area at a given time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The massive walls of water come from seemingly out of nowhere and without warning. The ship "sustained limited damage during the incident" and arrived in Ushuaia Wednesday afternoon, Viking said in its statement.
Spiker's cousin, Suzie Gooding, of North Carolina, told ABC News that at the time, the ship was going through the Drake Passage, "which is well-known for having turbulent seas." Californian Beverly Spiker told ABC News that a "huge smash" against the window of her and her husband's cabin caused her window frame to break. "The windows came crashing in, there was this wall of seawater that came in," she added. "Beds were being shoved up against the doors so that they were not able to get out of their rooms." The victim was a US woman who died after being struck by shattered glass, Argentinian media report.
In recent years, some observers have warned that the increase in tourism may not be sustainable and that it could threaten visitor safety or disrupt the fragile environment, which is already straining under the effects of climate change. A State Department official said that a U.S. citizen died and that the department was offering consular assistance to the person’s family. The Viking Polaris ship's next departure for the Antarctic, scheduled for Dec. 5, has been canceled "after careful consideration," the cruise line said. "No matter what side of the boat you're on, it was felt throughout the ship that clearly something bad had happened," she said. Passengers on board the ship described choppy conditions leading up to the incident.
However, scientists have learned more about them in recent decades, studying how they emerge and how to predict the wall of water that can surge up even in calm seas. These rare killer waves were once seen as a myth reported by mariners or explorers. The polar explorer Ernest Shackleton wrote in his book of a "gigantic" freak wave he encountered in Antarctica in 1916.
"Our focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew, and we are working directly with them to arrange return travel," the company added in a statement issued on Friday. "Following a detailed diagnosis by the ship's medical team, the decision was taken for the ship to immediately sail to Ushuaia so that the guest could receive additional medical care from a shore-based hospital," it continued. Viking called it a “rogue wave incident” and said the four other passengers' injuries were non-life threatening. Viking called it a “rogue wave incident” and said the four other passengers’ injuries were non-life threatening. Rogue waves, which scientists call "extreme storm waves," are more than twice the size of surrounding waves, the NOAA says, and often come from different directions than that of the already-existing waves and wind. Viking said the company's "focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew" and that they were working to arrange return travel for those impacted by the trip.
The Ucluelet wave is regarded as the most extreme rogue wave because it was around three times higher than surrounding waves, while the Draupner wave was only around twice as tall compared with the surrounding sea state. A Norwegian cruise ship lost the ability to navigate after a rogue wave crashed into it Thursday, the cruise company HX said. "It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident," Viking Cruises said in a statement. The MS Maud, a Norwegian cruise ship, lost its ability to navigate after a rogue wave knocked out its power on Thursday. The passenger's leg required surgery, which led the ship's captain to turn back to Argentina.
Viking said it was investigating the incident and offered its "deepest sympathies" to the passenger's family. "Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment." Neither the Viking statement nor the Argentine Naval Prefecture identified the woman or her hometown. State Department confirmed to ABC News that the deceased was an American citizen. The department added that it was "offering all appropriate consular assistance" to the victim's family. Lawrence told BI that while she probably won't head to the North Sea in the winter again, she would still cruise with HX in the future.
"We wondered if we hit an iceberg. And there are no icebergs out here, but that's how it felt," Suzie Gooding, a passenger on the Viking Polaris, told WRAL News. "Everything was fine until the rogue wave hit, and it was just sudden. Shocking." The ship "sustained limited damage during the incident," Viking added, and arrived in Ushuaia Wednesday afternoon.
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