The Russian icebreaker Akademik Ioffe, operated for One Ocean Expeditions, ran aground in the Arctic on August 24. the ship left Kugaaruk, Nunavut, on Thursday the 23rd, before grounding in the Gulf of Boothia in the early afternoon Friday.
AIS tracks show the path of the Ship
AIS tracking video of the Russian passenger vessel AKADEMIK IOFFE before running aground near Pearson Island, Nunavut. @CoastGuardCAN @MarineTraffic @CBCNorth @globalnews pic.twitter.com/QixWvH7xoS
— Steve Geronazzo (@Shipspotting_Ca) August 25, 2018
JRCC dispatched Aircraft from Trenton and Winnipeg, but they arrived on scene 7 hours later. Coast Guard Icebreakers Amundsen and Pierre Raddison also responded, however the closest vessel was the Akademik Sergey Vavilov, also operating for One Ocean Expeditions. Passengers were evacuated by the The Passengers were taken back to Kugaaruk, then flown to Edmonton. Arriving on the 27th.
the Akademik Ioffe was refloated the day after she ran aground. Catherine Lawton, One Ocean Expeditions’s general manager told that CBC that “The hull damage was limited and contained to closed, empty tanks, which are secure from the rest of the ship,” Lawton said. “Those are actively being managed.” Being managed is a subtle way of saying they are pumping water, meaning the hull is breached. 6 days after the grounding, the ship remains anchored away from the grounding site. The ships owners – the Russian Academy of Science, have yet to file a salvage plan, causing the Coast Guard and Transport Canada to take control of the ship August 28th in order to complete all required inspections and develop a plan to get the ship to its next destination safely
One Ocean has canceled the next 2 tours for the ship, and now that the passengers have returned home, refered all enquireies to the ships owners.
Among the people on board the ship when it grounded was researcher Dr. Donglai Gong who tweeted photos about the experience
The Academik Ioffe ran aground at 69 43.0553N, 91 20.9521W around 11:30 AM Mountain Time. We are on a rock. No hull breach, no one hurt.
— C2PO (@oceansensing) August 24, 2018
When the Academik Ioffe ran aground yesterday we were in the presentation room for safety briefing. Suddenly we heard this loud grinding sound and the ship shook. The ship came to a complete stop and it fell silent, and listing to one side. We knew instantly that it was not good. pic.twitter.com/fdnYYze7jq
— C2PO (@oceansensing) August 25, 2018
This is the Academik Ioffe when we boarded the ship the evening before on 8/23/18. Beautiful ship. Photo credit: @truedichotomy pic.twitter.com/PoDjCJumHQ
— C2PO (@oceansensing) August 25, 2018
This is the Academik Ioffe when we all disembarked this morning. Notice that she’s sitting a good bit lower in the water. Canadian Coast Guard helicopter was on site with their vessel inbound. Photo credit: @truedichotomy pic.twitter.com/LoRxt2lerf
— C2PO (@oceansensing) August 26, 2018
The passenger transfer from the Academik Ioffe to the Academik Sergey Vavilov this morning went smoothly. pic.twitter.com/2IM7S9OsHx
— C2PO (@oceansensing) August 26, 2018
We have arrived at Kugaaluk aboard the Academik Sergey Vavilov and we are greeted by a beautiful sunset. Photo credit: @truedichotomy pic.twitter.com/BazncZRJQi
— C2PO (@oceansensing) August 26, 2018
Yale also produced this Article about the Experience. In 2010, the Clipper Adventurer also ran aground on a Discovered, but uncharted shoal. the TSB released a report into that incident.
Updates to this story will be posted Here
Original article: Akademik Ioffe Runs Aground in the Arctic..
