Опра Уинфри - най-влиятелна личност, според Forbes

Canadian cruise ship Explorer had been impaired after an object struck its hull as the vessel passed though ice. There was a second, lighter strike, the first mechanic Stanko Mihalev stated on the National TV. The ship ran into trouble north of the Antarctic Peninsula. She sank 20 hours later, once everyone on board was taken off. None of the passengers or crew were injured.

 „We took the accident very seriously in those first minutes but we managed to remain cold blooded”, Mihalev added. The accident happened in the early hours of the morning. The first stroke affected the passenger berths section.  For about 20-30 minutes the ship remained with power from the spare generator only. Stanko Mihalev was in charge of the emergency team for pumping out the water. Later he and his men tried to plug up the hole. According to him, the rescue of the passengers and crew has become possible thanks to the professional reactions of the captain, who picked the right moment to give the order to abandon ship, and passengers to be transfer to lifeboats. Only several minutes of delay could have been crucial, he stated. Another favorable factor was the good weather, as survivors were 5-6 hours in open sea, and at this time of the year this could have been lethal.

Passengers took to lifeboats after being ordered to abandon ship after it began to take in water. Crew left 3 hours after the evacuation of the passengers, and Mihalev remained with the captain being on of the last to leave the stricken ship. Following the news of the incident, the world media named the ship “the second Titanic”. Fortunately, this time there were no casualties.