In recent years, Chile has really been pushing to be THE jumping off point for Antarctic cruises. Still it seems that cruises were pretty evenly going from Punta Arenas in Chile and Ushuaia in Argentina with Ushuaia still being the main port for Antarctic bound cruises.
Chile has been luring cruise ships with various incentives including reducing port fees if they stop in more than one Chilean port. According to this article, Ushuaia is really beginning to feel the squeeze, as it tries to increase port fees and Chile becomes more appealing to cruise operators with the incentives and better infrastructure.
While it seems bad for Ushuaia, I think they will still are a key port for Antarctic cruises, but will they be able to continue to compete with Chile? I would hope so, as I fondly remember it as a fun port to walk around and shop in before departing from the End of the World and Beginning of Everything (i.e. the motto of the city).
Showing posts with label Cruises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cruises. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
M/V Polar Star fate unkown
The M/V Polar Star ran aground in Antarctica in Febuary 2011. The ship was later deemed safe enough to return to Ushuaia with passengers, but the rest of the cruise season was canceled. It turns out that the ship did not return to doing cruise in the north in May as expected and instead it remains in dry dock in the Canary Islands due to $1.6 million in unpaid repairs. The company that owns the ship (Karlsen Shipping Co. Ltd.) ended up in receivership in May and the ship was seized. Whether the ship will return to use in the Antarctic is unclear, although there are rumors G Adventures is considering purchasing it.Related Posts:
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Polar Star Cancels Rest of 2010/2011 Season Cruises
Last week I posted about the Polar Star hitting a rock and then later being evacuated for repairs. Yesterday after divers and shipping experts had examined the damage it was decided that the rest of the cruises for this season will be canceled in order or the ship to be repaired in dry dock. The ship is expected to resume its cruise schedule with the northern season of cruises in May.
Read more about this here.
Previous Related Posts:
Polar Star Antarctic Cruise Ship Runs Aground
Polar Star Evacuated After Inspection
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