Heritage Adventurer accidents and incidents

22 June 2020Other Incidents

(RCGS Resolute) In mid-June 2020, the shipowner (The Bahamas-based company Bunnys Adventure and Cruise Shipping Co Ltd) announced that the vessel will be auction-sold on June 22 (2020) in Curacao. According to court documents, the Bahamian company owned debts ~USD 4 million. The auction was expected to attract many investors and expedition cruising operators. Reportedly, the vessel was sold for just USD 0,6 million.

Previously, the ship was chartered to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (part of TUI Group) and One Ocean Expeditions (2007-founded / 2020-defunct). In late-2019, around 5 months before the Canadian company One Ocean Expeditions filed for bankruptcy (April 17, 2020), the ship was seized in Port Buenos Aires (Argentina). Then, the shipowner paid to Argentinian maritime authorities to release the vessel. Following the collision incident on March 30, 2020 (see details below) the vessel remained docked in Port Willemstad (Curacao), carrying only non-essential crew.

RCGS Resolute started charter under charter operations for One Ocean Expeditions (OOE) on November 16, 2018 (inaugural cruise) with Antarctica itineraries.

In a court filing in late-June 2020, Andrew Prossin (OOE's Managing Director) said that he is in negotiations to finance a new cruise ship charter. Prossin filed a USD 19 million judgement against Terragelida Ship Management Ltd (Limassol Cyprus-based company) which was contracted by OOE during the charter period of the two Russian icebreakers (Ioffe and Vavilov). OOE also collected an insurance payment and further reclaimed USD 3+ million in assets on RCGS Resolute. Prossin also added that he is negotiating with non-competitive parties to eventually sub-charter the new cruise vessel annually, for a substantial amount of days.

30 March 2020Ship Collision / Allision

(RCGS Resolute) On March 30, 2020, while at sea (in international waters), the cruise ship collided with a Venezuelan Coast Guard patrol boat (GC23 Naiguata, length 80 m, GT 1500 tons). As result, the boat's hull was breached and soon it capsized and sank. The collision occurred approx 25 km (15 mi) off Tortuga Island (Costa Rica). The ship was drifting (without propulsion) due to mechanical issues - one engine was switched off, the other was undergoing maintenance. Before the collision, the patrol boat's crew radioed the ship warning that it navigates in Venezuelan territorial waters and commanding it to proceed to Puerto Moreno (Margarita Island, Venezuela) for processing.

Before complying with the request, the ship's Captain contacted the shipowner for confirmation. Allegedly, during that time, the Venezuelan vessel purposely collided. On April 1, ship's managing company (Columbia Cruise Services Ltd) officially stated that the Venezuelan crew fired warning shots into the air as their boat approached at a high speed the ship’s starboard side. According to the statement, the boat repeatedly rammed RCGS Resolute's bow attempting to turn the vessel towards the Venezuelan waters.

Both vessels sustained hull damages, but while the cruise ship's seaworthiness was not affected, the patrol boat (after sustaining severe damages) started taking on water, keeled over and sank. All its crew (44) were retrieved from the sea alive. The ship remained on the scene for 1 hour, then proceeded to Curacao and on April 2 docked in Port Willemstad for an investigation.

For the accident, Venezuela's Government blamed the cruise ship crew, stating that it had rammed into the boat and not the other way around. Venezuela also officially accused the cruise ship of improperly departing the scene after the vessel's lost. "The action of the ship Resolute is considered cowardly and criminal, since it did not attend to the rescue of the crew, in breach of the international regulations that regulate the rescue of life at sea". Venezuela's President (Nicolas Maduro) later classified the accident as an “act of aggression and piracy”. He also suspected that the ship could have been transporting "mercenaries to attack military bases in Venezuela, unloading them out there on the high seas".

09 August 2019Other Incidents

(RCGS Resolute) On August 9, 2019, the vessel was arrested for several hours after anchoring in call port Iqaluit (Baffin Island, Nunavut Canada). The ship was seized after Nunavut's police received a warrant from Halifax' Federal Court.

The claim was filed by Atship Services Ltd (1994-founded, Nova Scotia-based port agency) and listed as defendants the shipowner (Bunnys Adventure and Cruise Shipping/Bahamas-based) and the ship charterer (One Ocean Expeditions/BC Canada-based). It stated that the defendants owned the Canadian company ~CAD 100,000 (~USD 75,000) for provided services. As the allegations were not proven in court, the vessel was released later on the same day and continued on the voyage.

13 June 2013Fire Accident

(MS Hanseatic) On June 13, 2013, while the vessel was drydocked at Bredo Shipyard (Bremerhaven Germany), a shipyard fire broke. The accident caused a drydock delay as additional repairs were required. As a result, the scheduled for June 17 and July 4 cruises were cancelled.

21 August 2005Ship Grounding

(MS Hanseatic) On August 21, 2005, the ship ran aground near Leroy Island (Arctic Norway). The accident resulted in serious hull damage (5 m / 16 ft hole), but the vessel remained stable and proceeded to Bodo Norway. In Bodo, the cruise was officially cancelled. All passengers were disembarked and flown back to Germany. The ship had to enter drydock for repairs.