VIDEO: NSIA reports on deadly Viking Polaris encounter with a breaking wave

One passenger died after Viking Polaris windows were shattered by a breaking wave

The Norwegian Safety Investigation Agency has released its report on the November 2022 incident in which one passenger died and eight others were injured after a breaking wave hit the expedition cruise ship Viking Polaris breaking eight state room windows and causing major damage.

The passenger who died was a U.S. citizen, as were four of those injured, and the incident was one of a series of accidents involving the death or injury of U.S. citizens on foreign-flagged passenger vessels in Antarctic waters between Nov. 15 and Dec. 1, 2022. In that short time span, there were four U.S. cruise passenger fatalities and several injuries in the region.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. NTSB were both parties to the NSIA investigation of the Viking Polaris accident, which took place on November 29 when the ship was performing a medical evacuation after one passenger had been injured and another ended up in the water after an incident the previous day with one of the ship’s Zodiacs in Antarctica.

While the ship was crossing the Drake Passage from Antarctica to Ushuaia, it was hit by a breaking wave just south-east of Cape Horn. The investigation found that the impact of breaking wave the breaking wave, in combination with the ship’s course and speed, caused the windows to shatter.

“At the time of the accident, the crew did not have the sufficient premises for predicting the risk associated with a breaking wave reaching so high up on the ship side with such great force,” says the NSIA report, noting that its investigation has shown that the pressure from the breaking wave exceeded what the windows were designed to withstand. It is not identified rules for ships or ship windows which accounts for the effects of breaking waves towards the shipside.

The NSIA says that it is of the opinion that the windows were inadequately dimensioned and that the design pressure requirements in the current regulations for windows in this position yield values too low to be able to withstand pressure loads from breaking waves within the extent of the validity of the rules.

In the Drake Passage and other areas with similar weather conditions there is a probability of breaking waves that has to be taken into account when operating in these waters. It is therefore a possibility, says NSIA, that Viking Polaris and its sister ship Viking Octantis will be exposed to breaking waves against the side of the ship if they are operating in beam sea with increasing wind. The NSIA considers that a robust design that takes account of breaking waves will be a necessary barrier to reduce the probability of damages to the ship side. The current dimensioning of the windows means that they will not be able to withstand the pressure from all breaking waves which may arise within the extent of validity of the rules.

NSIA has made a number of safety recommendations in its report that include making changes to the IACS rules and reinforcing the windows of the Viking Polaris and its sister ship.

• You can read the full report, including the recommendations HERE

The U.S. Coast Guard has also issued a Commandant’s Action Memo that, as well as endorsing and commenting on the NSIA recommendations also addresses the question of Zodiac maintenance and operation. You can read that below: