Bigger Cruise Ship Sought

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31595, 5 February 1968, Page 1

Bigger Cruise Ship Sought

Unless Mr Lars Eric Lindblad can get a bigger ship than the Magga Dan, he will take no more tourist cruises to Antarctica from New Zealand.

Mr Linblad said in Christchurch yesterday that cruises to McMurdo Sound would have to be made in faster ships with about 50 passengers. This year’s cruises in the Magga Dan were just too expensive, and although his wealthy passengers could well afford it, other deserving tourists could not. He was hopeful that negotiations for a bigger Danish ship would be successful. If not, he might try to buy a Finnish ship. “After all,” he said, “the Finns build the finest icebreakers. They have to, because all of their pas-

senger ships have to cope with ice conditions:”

Mr Lindblad said he hoped to have a bigger ship by next summer. Then he would be able to take twice as many tourists, charging about onethird the present fare. However, he saw the immediate future for Antarctic tourism was the Palmer Peninsula, which could be reached from Tierra del Fuego in only 36 hours. The scenery was more varied there because of all the islets and bays, the wild life was richer, and there were 14 scientific stations. Mr Lindblad said McMurdo station had a very poor atmosphere for tourists because of its military nature. “It's not the same feeling that you get at Scott Base,” he said. "There it’s a more relaxed, happier group of people.” Divers inspected the Magga

Dan at Bluff yesterday morning, and pronounced her apparently unharmed by the shoal on which she was stuck in McMurdo Sound. “There was not a mark on her,”’ said Mr Lindblad.

"But she was slower than we thought she was, so we came straight back to Bluff instead of going around the coast to Wellington. The next tour will leave from Bluff on Monday, and this time well miss out Deep Cove and Milford Sound, and also possibly the Chatham Islands.”

The publicity given to the grounding of the Magga Dan in McMurdo Sound for. 37 hours was “completely ridiculous,” said the master (Captain F. Bang) at Bluff. “Many passengers didn’t even realise we were aground until told,” Captain Bang said.

"The story about it was

blown up out of all proportion—this sort of thing happens all the time in Arctic waters.”

Captain Bang said that he was pleased with the voyage.

“We had a trouble-free trip,” he said, “much better than I hoped—ice conditions were average and we kept to schedule, or as near to schedule as possible. “We were only half a day behind, but it’s almost impossible to keep to a schedule when you are in Antarctic waters.”

The managing director of the Holm Shipping Company (Captain J. F. Holm) estimated that the Magga Dan’s two cruises would be worth more than $200,000 in foreign exchange to New Zealand. Captain Holm expressed the hope that the initiative would not be lost to the Australians or others in organising tours to Antarctica,