NZ urges actions to avoid Antarctic tourism disaster

WELLINGTON. February 19. KAZINFORM New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully on Thursday called for stricter controls over the Southern Ocean, after more than 100 people were trapped on board a cruise ship which ran aground in Antarctica on Tuesday.

He said in a statement that confirmation that 113 passengers onboard the Bahamas-flagged Ocean Nova in Antarctica were safe is welcome news, but the accident highlighted the need for stricter controls in the Southern Ocean. "If nothing is done, it will be only a matter of time before there is a disaster in the Southern Ocean. The international community must take steps to ensure that never happens," McCully said. New Zealand will host a conference later this year on Antarctic ship-borne tourism, focusing on how to prevent a major maritime accident, and how to put controls around what is a rapidly-expanding, but currently inadequately regulated industry, he added. Tourist ships pose a significant risk not only to human life, but also to a pristine, fragile environment. The number of people cruising in Antarctic waters has quadrupled to 46,000 in the last 15 years, which has resulted in visits from bigger tourist ships that just aren't suited to the conditions, he said; Kazinform has learnt from Xinhua. "It is also critical that the industry recognizes that the Southern Ocean is a remote, inhospitable, and dangerous place for tourist vessels, that is difficult for Search and Rescue services to reach in the case of an emergency," McCully said. Attendees at the conference will include experts from the 47 countries that are party to the Antarctic Treaty, along with representatives from the tourism industry, international institutions, and NGOs.