Travel Tips

Like a monument to the end of Antarctica’s age of innocence, the cruise ship’s badly gashed orange hull rises out of ice blue waters. Oblivious to the danger surrounding them, specifically from the thin oily sheen on the water, many penguins calmly perch on the overturned vessel. More diesel fuel is leaking gradually even as most of the tens of thousands of diesel fuel spilled out of the wreckage.

At Earth’s final frontier, times are changing.Countries eager to stake or reinforce their claims to a slice of the Frozen Continent are dispatching ships and aircraft, bulldozers and amphibious trucks. Research efforts are undertaken with nationalistic fanfare along with new bases being established. Every austral summer week, well heeled tourists come in hundreds aboard cruise ships, military transport planes or supply vessels as arranged by specialized agencies for travel. You’ll get further resources on antarctica tours by visiting there.

Even private yachts and polar skiing expeditions are venturing into the last place on Earth where no passport is needed. Inevitable accidents abound like the sinking of the cruise ship, making Antarctic wildlife pay the price as tons of legal, environmental and highly political questions come in the way hazardous icebergs abound in the poorly charted waters of Antarctica. As no one owns Antarctica, no laws apply to it as stated in the Antarctic Treaty’s terms.

The year 1961 saw exactly a dozen nations consenting to let go of territorial claims temporarily for at least three decades so that Antarctica can be able to be a haven of peaceful research efforts.Eighteen countries only under observer status have nonetheless consented to abiding by all its laws while 8 nations since then, have joined the treaty and have been awarded full right to vote. Treaty countries meet every two years. Now, with the group’s plan to permit strictly regulated exploitation and exploration of mineral resources, Antarctica will no longer be as mystical as many perceive it to be. Now, matters like base proliferation, marine and air safety, indemnification, medical and rescue facilities have become something they have to contend with.

The austral summer season sees more than 30 cruises heading to Palmer, bringing in about a hundred tourists on average. Tourism is hardly controlled and people even think it often goes out of control. The Science Foundation briefly tried to ban tourist visits last year, arguing that it interfered with research. Once prominent Americans complained and demanded to be given information how the tax dollars they give are spent, the ban was removed. If you need more details on antarctic tours visit there.

Taking care of the needs of other people in the station is one of the station staff, a medical corpsman manning a small room that can fit up to four dozen patients at a time. It lacks skill in managing maritime disaster. A disaster can be avoided if the weather is fair, state the workers at the station. Lifeboats in the sunken cruise ship were mainly open inflatable rafts but the oars and motors are no longer there. The day was calm and they could be towed ashore by station work boats without difficulty. According to the laborers, things would have been worse should the vessel be overturned or blown out to sea thanks to volatile temper of the weather in Antarctica.

As a quick response to the diesel spill quandary, navy and civilian pollution containment experts took with them 52 tons of specialized equipment after they were assigned by the National Science Foundation to fulfill this complicated mission. Above two million dollars was what the mission amounted to. The navies of Chile and Argentina come in to undergo clean up missions that are costly. Even as the cleaning mission concluded at the middle of March, the sunken vessel still has up to 63,000 gallons that is impossible to be reached and pumped out without any health risks and it could spill out in a more massive manner once the ship gets torn while a winter storm rages or just go through the natural course of seeping out while the wreck disintegrates through time. It would be much too costly to tow the wreckage, according to experts.

The oil spill is disastrous for the area abounds with different animals from penguins, cormorants, Arctic terns, skuas and other types of birds. The bay is frequently passed through by seals and whales. There has been indirect evidence linking the death of many bird species as well as penguins due to poisoning from the oil spill but then as to the extent of the damage, there has been no clear answers yet. A special team of 15 researchers from the United States, Argentina and Chile has arrived to begin a comprehensive study on the spill’s environmental impact. There is not a possibility for damage claims and it will also take years before it is over.

Only the Antarctic Peninsula and countries like Chile, Great Britain and Argentina can claim damages for United States of America do not own any property rights whatsoever to the area at or around Palmer Station. During the next Antarctic Treaty, Chile will propose an article that will ensure each country will be held financially liable for any damages especially to the environment.The distinguished Science Foundation intends to press for an agreement on cost sharing in the mission of cleaning up all spills and similar accidents, while fortifying an office that will specialize in the coordination of emergencies on an international level.

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