Remember this? The ill-fated “Spirit of Mawson” expedition to Antarctica (in the Akademik Shokalskiy) that set out to bring attention to “global warming” only to be trapped in ice?
It’s deja vu all over again. (with h/t to Yogi Berra)
We have another winner! This time in the Arctic.
A few weeks ago I covered this:
Student propaganda cruise to the Arctic to be carried by webcast
From August 23 to Sept. 13, the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center (ISC), with major funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and additional support from the Heising-Simons Foundation, will conduct the innovative Northwest Passage Project research expedition with a team of natural and social scientists, students, and a professional film crew. This ground-breaking opportunity is also supported by One Ocean Expeditions as a key marine partner, having operated in Arctic waters for over 20 years.
Research to aid understanding of / document climate change effects
Aboard the Akademik Ioffe, the team will collect water, ice, and air samples to advance understanding of and document the effect climate change is having on the environment and biodiversity in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
…
The expedition team will engage a wide public audience through an extensive and unprecedented Internet presence from the area, including Facebook Live broadcasts from sea. Special interactive broadcasts will be beamed via the Inner Space Center (ISC), the U.S. facility that supports ocean exploration and education, to three prestigious science museums across the country – the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, the Exploratorium, San Francisco CA, and the Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward AK.
Then predictably, this happened according to the Facebook page of the tour company, One Ocean Expeditions Inner Space Center:
On the morning of August 24th, the Akademik Ioffe — the vessel carrying the participants of the National Science Foundation funded Northwest Passage Project being conducted by the University of Rhode Island — became grounded in the western Gulf of Boothia in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The ship has since been re-floated, and following a full and successful systems check the vessel has repositioned to anchor. We are happy to report that all passengers, including all Northwest Passage Project participants, are safe and are being well cared for. We will provide updates as we resolve the situation.
Then the Canadian Coast Guard service had this to say:
Good morning, Due to heavier than normal ice concentrations in the Canadian arctic waters north of 70 degrees, the Canadian Coast Guard, recommends that pleasure craft do not navigate in the Beaufort Sea, Barrow, Peel Sound, Franklin Strait and Prince Regent. CCG icebreakers cannot safely escort pleasure craft. Operators of pleasure craft considering a northwest passage should also consider the risk of having to winter in a safe haven in the Arctic, or in the case of an emergency, be evacuated from beset vessels. Safety of mariners is our primary concern. REGARDS, NORDREG CANADA 181256UTC\LR
And then, comes the familiar evacuation plan:
25 Aug 2018 – KUGAARUK, Nunavut – Cpl. Serge Yelle of the RCMP detachment says he expects between 80 and 90 of the passengers will fly from the remote Arctic coastline community back to Yellowknife.
The Transportation Safety Board is considering whether it will send investigators to the site.
A board spokesman says the ship has suffered some damage.
On its website, the tour operator – One Ocean Expeditions – describes the 117-metre Akademik Ioffe as a “modern, comfortable, safe and ice-strengthened” vessel that can host 96 passengers and 65 staff and crew.
Passengers on grounded Arctic cruise ship to be flown back to Yellowknife
It seems global warming zealots are condemned to repeat the past, over and over again.
Of course, despite their claims of “unprecedented Internet presence from the area” not a word of any of this on the official project page. The last entry was on August 22nd headlined: Getting there is half the fun
If only they’d checked first…per the Canadian Coast Guard report, sea ice volume is above normal, according to DMI:
Extent remains a bit below normal:
NOTE: About 15 minutes after publication, the title was changed from “stuck” to “grounded” to be more in-tune with news reports. However, since we so far have no photos of the grounding, we don’t know if it was a grounding by ice, or by land to avoid ice. Either way, since the ship is now damaged, the expedition is a bust.
SteveS
Or more probably, ice was blocking their planed course, and trying to maneuver around the
blockage, they ventured into shallower waters and ran aground.
Your interpretation is supported by the message broadcast by the Canadian Coast Guard Service, shortly after this grounding – and most likely in reaction to it:
”Good morning, Due to heavier than normal ice concentrations in the Canadian arctic waters north of 70 degrees, the Canadian Coast Guard, recommends that pleasure craft do not navigate in the Beaufort Sea, Barrow, Peel Sound, Franklin Strait and Prince Regent… “
Or more probably, ice was blocking their planed course, and trying to maneuver around the
blockage, they ventured into shallower waters and ran aground.
Your interpretation is not supported by the message broadcast by the Canadian Coast Guard Service,
shortly after this grounding – and most likely in reaction to it:almost a week before the grounding and about a different part of the passage:”Good morning, Due to heavier than normal ice concentrations in the Canadian arctic waters north of 70 degrees, the Canadian Coast Guard, recommends that pleasure craft do not navigate in the Beaufort Sea, Barrow, Peel Sound, Franklin Strait and Prince Regent… “
Rather deceptive of you posting part of the Coastguard message without its dateline, the message was sent on the 18th, almost a week before this incident!
Also the grounding had nothing to do with ice, they ran aground on rocks.
Here’s a photo of the grounded ship:
Lol, that’s supposedly “grounded in arctic ice” or “trapped in arctic ice” ??
I think the article needs to be corrected.
[Their] latest web site reports are NOT being updated by these “Internet friendly” tourists. We do not know for certain, but the ship DID ground somewhere underwater (probably on rocks ??) and is leaking water, but the specific cause is a guess, and possibly occurred before encountering ice. But we don’t know. All passengers (but not their Jacuzzi) are safe. The ship may, or may not, survive. We do know absolutely that the ships (several were involved in the many changes) and the touring package tried very hard to salvage their 9,900.00 dollar (per person) vacations up across the Arctic that were being funded by the NSF, and each of these changes and reschedules required even more thousands of pounds/kilograms/tons of fuel to support as various ships tried to go pick them up.
That the sea itself, and its rocks, shoals, storms and tides and winds is a threat up in the arctic needs to be emphasized. These “tourists/propagandists” seemingly did not know that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm3UMqFHzp3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control
Lots of ice shortly before running aground.
Is Griff on this ship?
Judging from the picture, the male/female ratio appears to be 2/5. Maybe those guys aren’t as dumb as they appear.
I hope they sue the Travel Company. The passengers maybe fools but the crew should be seafarers and experienced professional seamen – there is no excuse with modern navigation equipment to run aground (stuck on a rock was one comment), whether avoiding ice or not. I would imagine however that the charts of the area are incompletely surveyed and they may have hit an uncharted peak – after all such peaks have been found around the coast of Scotland, that is not exactly impeded by pack ice, in the recent few years!
How very, very embarrassing for the ship and Captain, one day out on the expedition
climate change is real we must not offer credibility to those who deny it
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/26/climate-change-is-real-we-must-not-offer-credibility-to-those-who-deny-it
They should have been made to walk out like Franklin’s doomed crew of 129.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin's_lost_expedition
Excellent exhibition last year at National Maritime Museum, wrecks of both ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’ have been found. Sobering tales of death from lack of proper equipment. Inuit helped some on occasion but the task was beyond them. Worth looking for the exhibition if it tours. Lots of Canadian input to the exhibition so that seems possible.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/exploration-endeavour/sir-john-franklin
You just don’t hear much about NW Passage tourism trips anymore. Add that to the “gone quiet” list of warming hype.
Quick, get Justin up there for a selfie….and promise Canadian Tax Payer money to rescue and fly them out, and cover the costs of the repair etc etc….shaking head…again…
So, is a frozen Loffe better than no Loffe at all?
These people are idiots. Thanks for the follow-up story!
Luckily these people canceled too before sacrificing their children to Gaia.
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2018/08/23/dogbark-turns-back/
The problem with the left is they want everything for free. They were brought up on free television, free internet, free medicare, free libraries, free parks, free welfare cheques, free schooling, …..etc. Now they want free energy(wind and solar). This group still thinks there is free sailing. They ignore the most famous quote in history. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A TRULY FREE LUNCH.
The only reason Renewables are touted as Free Energy is that the government hasn’t thought of a way to charge for the power input, sun and wind. The method for extracting the low density energy certainly isn’t sustainable as it requires the mining of rare earth minerals of which, like oil, there is only a finite amount recoverable
‘The problem with the left is they want everything for free.’
Which is a very exploitable condition for opportunists.
One thing was really free: culture.
But then the postmodern liberalism came, took over academia and culture can now be “appropriated” like a parcel of land.
I must admit, since the first article on this farce was published a few months ago here, I was hoping for an updated article covering what I was certain would be their lack of progress though I was expecting it to be as they reached Fort Ross and not within the first 24 hours. I’m just glad that the fools could be rescued from their situation if not their incompetence.
Participation Trophies all around!
https://www.barrietoday.com/local-news/our-photographer-took-to-the-sea-to-explore-the-arctic-just-before-the-ship-ran-aground-16-photos-1026963
I don’t understand, wasn’t the Artic supposed to be ice free in summer by now?
That very sad that again a ship stuck in arctic
True dat.
If sea level is increasing, the risk of running a ship aground is going down. Perhaps it is not increasing fast enough.
Just another reality check -Hockey style!
Where is a hungry polar bear when you need one?
I would suggest they immediately start a Gofundme page for their rescue. I’m tired of paying for these intentionally synaptically challenged idiots.
Next up…
Please pet and feed the bears. In Alaska and Northern Canada too if you are extracted on our dime.
The ship was originally supposed to start and end it’s cruise in Resolute but had to use Kugaaruk because Resolute has been cut off by ice.
https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/local-news/our-photographer-took-to-the-sea-to-explore-the-arctic-just-before-the-ship-ran-aground-16-photos-1027627
When the Canadian Coast Guard notice was understood by the S/V Dogbark, they abandoned their trip Eastward from Prudhoe Bay, and sailed nonstop to get through the Bering Strait. They are now ensconced in a little bay by Port Clarence, AK.
I don’t know their plan, but from there its a couple or 3 days home, to the Fox Islands in the AK Archipelago.
Seems sensibility, like the wind, is variable while on the seas.
Are they streaming all this live on facebook?
Instagram.
Please see below.
Its fascinating that the ice graphs clearly show the effects of the recent Super El Nino beginning later in 2015, strong throughout 2016 and recovering in 2017 and 2018.
In 2016, there were also two August cyclones, vs just one each in the even lower years of 2007 and 2012. Yet 2016 summer minimum sea ice extent was higher.
No argument there, Sgt (Sargent?). My observation was that annual ice extents were generally expanding from the 2007/2012 lows, but the Super El Nino may have affected 2015 and 2016 negatively.