Seven Seas Explorer accidents and incidents

January 2023Structural and Technical Issues

During the 14-day "New Year 2022" voyage from Australia to New Zealand (Sydney to Auckland, itinerary Dec 29 - Jan 11), the vessel was forced to sail back to Australia after the NZ port authorities denied it harbor entry/passenger disembarkation due to biofouling of the hull with marine organisms like mussels, oysters, algae, barnacles, sponges, crabs.

The original itinerary was drastically changed as all of the scheduled call ports in NZ (Port Chalmers/Dunedin, Lyttelton/Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Russell/Bay of Islands, and Auckland) were canceled. The hull cleaning was required to be carried out by a company recognized by NZ's Ministry of Primary Industries. However, no such company was available at the Australian ports that the ship visited prior to entering NZ's waters.

Of the itinerary's Australian ports was visited only Melbourne (Dec 30-31 overnight), as Geelong (Jan 1) and Burnie Tasmania (Jan 2) were canceled. The ship made an unscheduled stop in Adelaide on Jan 4th (11,5 hours port stay/3 am - 2:30 pm UTC). Seven Seas Explorer then remained overnight (Jan 5-6) at anchorage off Victor Harbor (to the east of Kangaroo Island) where a boat with divers was dispatched for underwater hull cleaning. On Jan 7th the ship left Australia en route to NZ where were visited Auckland (Jan 11-12 overnight), Tauranga (Jan 13-14 overnight), Gisborne (Jan 15), Wellington (Jan 16), Lyttelton (Jan 17), Dunedin (Jan 18).

Note: New Zealand has some of the world's strictest biofouling regulations as ~90% of marine pests arrive in the country on the submerged surfaces of the ships' hulls. In the period 2019-2022, ~6% of the international cruise vessels scheduled to call in NZ ports have been required to clean their hulls prior to entering New Zealand’s waters.

28 December 2018Coast Guard Medevacs

On December 28, 2018, a 73-year-old male passenger (suffering a suspected stroke) was medevaced via rescue boat near Mossel Bay (South Africa). Mossel Bay's National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) was contacted by the cruise ship at 8 pm. The operation was conducted by NSRI and also included ambulance paramedics and an EMS duty doctor. The operation was conducted in rough weather with up to 75 kph (45 mph) winds and up to 4 m (13 ft) waves. The elderly man (in stable condition) was secured on a stretcher, offloaded on the rescue boat and accompanied by his wife transported to Mossel Bay Hospital.

The ship was on a 15-day "South African Cheer" cruise (itinerary December 22 - January 5) roundtrip from homeport Cape Town to Namibia (Luderitz, Walvis Bay), South Africa (Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban), Mozambique (Maputo) and South Africa (Richards Bay, Mossel Bay, Cape Town). During the incident, the cruise liner was approx 100 km (60 mi) east from Mossel Bay, en-route from Namibia to South Africa (Port Elizabeth).

07 March 2017Coast Guard Medevacs

On March 7, 2017, an 89-year-old male passenger was medevaced by a USCG team. The ship was en route from Miami to Key West FL, approx 25 ml (40 km) southeast of Islamorada (“Village of Islands”, Florida USA). The man was airlifted and transported to Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital. The ship was on 10-day Caribbean cruise (itinerary March 6-16) roundtrip from homeport Miami FL to ports in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman Island.