Greg Mortimer accidents and incidents

29 June 2023Structural and Technical Issues

(CruiseMapper-emailed report from Gary Jones)

Message from Aurora Expeditions received June 29th: Please be advised that while proceeding through ice in East Greenland, MV Greg Mortimer sustained some damage to one of its propellers. All the guests currently onboard the ship are safe and the ship is on the way to Reykjavik (Iceland).

Note: According to CruiseMapper's satellite AIS data/tracker, the ship left Europe on June 19th (leaving from Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen Island/Svalbard Norway) and arrived in Reykjavik (Iceland) on July 2nd (at 6:33 UTC) for an overnight stay in port, leaving on July 3rd (at 19:08 UTC).

Update: On July 8th, the ship arrived in Stavanger and was drydocked at GMS Yard (Rosenberg Shipyard on Buoy Island) for repairs. Greg Mortimer remained in Stavanger for 14 days and left on July 22nd (at 10:35 UTC) en route to Caen (France).

April 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus outbreak) On April 6, 2020, Aurora Expeditions (cruise ship's operator) officially announced 81 passengers have tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The company's statement added that 2 crew and 1 passenger were medevaced from the vessel (anchored off Uruguay's coast since March 27) and hospitalized in Montevideo. The passenger (elderly man) later died in the clinic.

Local media reported that on April 1, Uruguayan med personnel boarded the ship to conduct testing. That day, 81 tested positive and 45 negative. A total of 6 passengers (in critical conditions, including two Australians) were medevaced and hospitalized in ICUs (intensive care units). Aurora Expeditions stated that the Coronavirus-positive passengers were asymptomatic (showing no symptoms), clinically assessed and not found to be unhealthy or requiring health monitoring.

A total of 217 tests for COVID-19 were collected (all passengers and crew), of which 128 tested positive and 89 negative. On April 9, the vessel remained anchored (in Port Montevideo's harbour) still awaiting permission for docking and debarkation. On April 10, for all Australian and NZ passengers (96+16), the Uruguayan authorities arranged a charter flight (by Hifly Airline) leaving from Carrasco Airport. On April 12, the plane arrived in Melbourne (landed at Tullamarine Airport) where all tourists (112) were quarantined in a hotel for 2 weeks.

The ship was finally allowed to dock and disembark all passengers on April 10. All disembarked were bused to Carrasco Airport. The European and American positive-tested cruisers were quarantined on the ship (not allowed to disembark and fly home) until their subsequent test results become negative. For them, Aurora Expeditions arranged charter flights from Montevideo via Sao Paulo (Brazil). Retesting onboard was done every 2-3 days, conducted by two English-speaking Uruguayan physicians.

Reportedly, the first suspected COVID-19 case was announced on March 24 (a male crew experiencing high fever). On the same day, the Captain implemented emergency safety protocols and all passengers were isolated to their staterooms. On March 27, the ship anchored off Montevideo Harbour, waiting for docking and debarkation permissions. On March 29 were provided only six COVID-19 detection kits. On April 2, a positive-tested passenger (also suffering from acute pneumonia) was medevaced (via tender boat) and hospitalized. On April 16 was completed the passenger debarkation. A medical plane took 15 tourists (discharged from a Montevideo clinic) and flew them to Miami Airport for their connecting home flights to Canada and Europe (UK, France, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland). Four cruisers remained hospitalized in Montevideo until they recover to be able to fly back home. On the ship remained (in isolation) a total of 35 positive-tested crew. After finishing the 2-week quarantine, Greg Mortimer departed Montevideo on a Transatlantic crossing to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary islands).

On May 11, the ship was allowed to dock in Port Montevideo with 89 crew onboard, including 37 Coronavirus-positive cases. On May 12, following strict health protocols, the crew was disembarked and isolated in 2 different, specially staffed hotels (for the negative and positive cases) for a 14-day quarantine prior to repatriation.

The accident occurred during the 21-day South Georgia and Antarctic Odyssey" cruise (itinerary March 14 - April 5, booking code ASG80G) roundtrip from homeport Ushuaia (Argentina) and visiting South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, Elephant Island, South Georgia Island (Grytviken) and the Falkland Islands.

Note: Unlike all major cruise companies that suspended operations fleetwide for ~2 months, Aurora Expeditions continued with its 2020 program as scheduled, without any cruise cancellations and itinerary changes.