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"Titanic moment": Cruise ship passenger captures iceberg collision

<p>A worried passenger onboard a Carnival cruise ship has recalled the moment the vessel collided with a large piece of ice off the coast of Alaska. </p> <p>The moment was captured on camera by Cassandra Goskie, who witnessed when the huge cruise ship was scraped by an iceberg. </p> <p>As the collision was taking place, Cassandra wrote, "If we die it was damn well worth it, it's a Titanic moment."</p> <p>According to another passenger, the vessel was halted "for hours to assess damages" before it eventually continued on its course. </p> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: currentcolor !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: none; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px; max-width: 100%; outline: currentcolor !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7412700123140017450&display_name=tiktok&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40cass_goskie%2Fvideo%2F7412700123140017450%3Fembed_source%3D121374463%252C121451205%252C121439635%252C121433650%252C121404359%252C121351166%252C72778570%252C121331973%252C120811592%252C120810756%253Bnull%253Bembed_name%26refer%3Dembed%26referer_url%3Dedition.cnn.com%252F2024%252F09%252F11%252Ftravel%252Fcarnival-cruise-ship-collides-with-iceberg%252Findex.html%26referer_video_id%3D7412700123140017450&image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-pu-sign-useast8.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2Fos4aQULQwtkRqiQfHEGAgCvUjiNAMCeIRmIEeO%3Flk3s%3Db59d6b55%26x-expires%3D1726362000%26x-signature%3DyrK0d0gVAMaqeloGoTRsFr7ROPA%253D%26shp%3Db59d6b55%26shcp%3D-&key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>A Carnival spokesperson told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/11/travel/carnival-cruise-ship-collides-with-iceberg/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>CNN</em>,</a> "An assessment determined no damage to the ship's hull and the vessel continued on its cruise and there has been no impact to operations."</p> <p>The cruise company also confirmed that no one onboard was injured by the collision. </p> <p>Despite the close call with the ice, the ship was able to finish its seven-day expedition, returning to Seattle in Washington before embarking on a 14-day trip back to Alaska. </p> <p>Alaska is home to notoriously icy waters, as other cruise ships over the years have had similar scary encounters. </p> <p>In 2022, Norwegian Cruise Line vessel Norwegian Sun hit a piece of an iceberg while sailing in Alaska, sustaining damage to its starboard bow.</p> <p>According to Captain John Herring, a marine pilot in southeast Alaska, the region is home to "hard ice that can damage the hull or propellers", while "strong winds and currents make navigating icy waters even harder.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Carnival / TikTok</em></p>

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"Leave the icebergs alone!": Absurd response to innocent Martha Stewart post

<p>It just goes to show that you literally cannot post anything these days without someone, somewhere, finding a reason to be outraged.</p> <p>Martha Stewart, the domestic diva who's known for her knack at turning the mundane into the majestic, took her talents to the high seas recently on a luxury cruise to Greenland. And boy, did she leave a wake of icy commotion.</p> <p>At the ripe age of 82, Martha decided to shake things up (literally) by embarking on a nautical adventure that had some of her fans doing double takes into their morning coffee.</p> <p>Martha's Instagram carousel began innocently enough, with Martha gleefully showcasing her maritime escapade. There she was, drink held high, posing with the glacial wonders of the frozen north. But the pièce de résistance was the snapshot of her 'boozy iceberg' – the crucial ingredient in her icy concoctions, plucked straight from the chilly embrace of Greenland's waters.</p> <p>Sure enough, the comment section of her post became hotter than a sauna at a polar bear convention. Martha's loyal 1.9 million followers swiftly chimed in, and boy, was the temperature rising. Concerns over climate change flooded the scene, with plenty of followers quick to label Martha "tone deaf", wondering if the cocktails were chilled with obliviousness rather than glacier fragments.</p> <p>Martha's post read, "End of the first zodiac cruise from @swanhelleniccruises into a very beautiful fjord on the east coast of Greenland. We actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight."</p> <p>Oblivious to the fact that this is a completely standard part of such tours – and that the tiny "iceberg" fragments in question are plucked innocently from the ocean, the negative responses came crashing in.</p> <p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">"Martha, leave the icebergs alone!" wrote one follower.</span></p> <p>"Martha the ice caps are melting don't put them in your drink," another "fan" chimed in.</p> <p>"I generally love Martha and the excesses of her life because [she's] about beautiful gardens, homes, food, but wealthy white people drinking their iceberg cocktails while the planet is in flames in a bit tone deaf," added another.</p> <p>"Global warming and melting ice caps but we need glacier ice for cocktails? Talk about tone def (sic). Been a fan for years but I've seen enough caviar lately as I struggle to buy groceries I'm out," another wrote.</p> <p>Talk about a tempest in a teacup – or perhaps, in this case, a tumbler. Martha's icy escapade melted some hearts and raised some temperatures, proving that even the most seasoned party thrower can stir up quite the social media storm. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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When it comes to disappearing ocean history, HMAS Perth is the tip of the iceberg

<p><em><strong>Natali Pearson is a PhD Candidate for Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of Sydney.</strong></em></p> <p>Millions of shipwrecks and archaeological sites lie under the ocean, including most infamously the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00908320.2013.750978" target="_blank">Titanic</a></strong></span>, resting almost four kilometres below the North Atlantic. These relics are just as important as terrestrial sites such as the Egyptian pyramids or the temples of Angkor, and preserve a history of our relationship to the seas. Just like marine ecosystems, this underwater cultural heritage is threatened by climate change, pollution, development, fishing and looting.</p> <p>Indeed just this week, Australian and Indonesian maritime archaeologists reported that HMAS Perth, a World War II wreck lying in the Sunda Strait and the final resting place for hundreds of men, has suffered <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/05/sunken-australian-warship-hmas-perth-ransacked-by-illegal-scavengers" target="_blank">extensive and recent damage</a></strong></span>. There is now less than half of the ship left.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="237" height="316" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40455/hmas-1.jpg" alt="HMAS 1"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Caption: HMAS Perth memorialised at Sydney’s Garden Island Naval Chapel. Image credit: Natali Pearson.</em></p> <p><strong>Stories from the sea</strong></p> <p>Humanity’s close relationship with the ocean stretches back thousands of years. Our oceans have provided food, connected civilisations, facilitated trade, travel and conquest, and also served as a sacred place of veneration. It’s estimated that <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/2001-convention/" target="_blank">three million ancient shipwrecks and sunken cities</a></strong></span> lie on the ocean floor.</p> <p>These include a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://acm.org.sg/collections/galleries/tang-shipwreck" target="_blank">9th century shipwreck</a></strong></span> discovered off <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://acm.org.sg/collections/research/publications/the-tang-shipwreck" target="_blank">Indonesia’s Belitung island</a></strong></span> in 1998. The ship originated in the Middle East, and its cargo was dominated by commercial quantities of Chinese ceramics. It represents <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.asia.si.edu/Shipwrecked/downloads/07Flecker.pdf" target="_blank">some of the earliest evidence</a></strong></span> of maritime trade between Southeast Asia, the Chinese Tang dynasty and the Middle Eastern Abbasid Empire.</p> <p>Nor are these vestiges of the past restricted to shipwrecks. Archaeologists have discovered <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.franckgoddio.org/projects/sunken-civilizations/alexandria.html" target="_blank">evidence of sunken civilisations</a></strong></span>, buried under silt and sand for centuries. In Egypt, relics of the ancient city of Alexandria include temples, palaces, and the 130-metre <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/the-heritage/did-you-know/pharos-of-alexandria/" target="_blank">Pharos Lighthouse</a></strong></span>, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Egyptian authorities now <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/underwater-museum-egypt-could-bring-thousands-sunken-relics-into-view-180957645/" target="_blank">plan to construct an underwater museum</a></strong></span> to share these discoveries with a broader audience.</p> <p>Sometimes, the smallest of objects discovered underwater can reveal as much as an entire city. Lost for centuries in waters off Crete, the 2000-year old Antikythera mechanism is known as the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/2000-year-old-computer-discovered/" target="_blank">world’s first computer</a></strong></span> for its use of gears and dials to predict eclipses and track moon phases. The same site has also yielded <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/human-skeleton-found-on-famed-antikythera-shipwreck-1.20632" target="_blank">human bones</a></strong></span>, from which scientists hope to be able to extract genetic information for insights into ancient shipwreck victims.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="499" height="445" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40456/hmas-2_499x445.jpg" alt="HMAS 2"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Caption: The Antikythera mechanism, the world’s first computer, found in waters off Crete.  Image credit: Marsyas.</em></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://archive.org/details/halfmiledown00beeb" target="_blank">Mother-of-pearl inlays</a></strong></span> - gathered by early breath hold divers and fashioned by artisans - found at a Mesopotamian site indicate that humans have been responding creatively to the ocean’s resources <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://tecvault.t101.ro/NOAA%20Diving%20Manual.pdf" target="_blank">as far back as 4,500 BCE</a></strong></span>.</p> <p>Underwater heritage is the legacy of these past activities, bearing witness to the development of both ancient and modern civilisations. But the significance of ocean artefacts extends beyond trade, travel and recreation. For example, the study of this heritage can show us the impact of rising sea levels on human life. Such information serves as a sobering reminder of the effects of climate change, and can also help us to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/uc-san-diego-launches-scripps-center-marine-archaeology" target="_blank">develop solutions to the present environmental problems</a></strong></span> we are facing.</p> <p>Ulrike Guérin from the UNESCO Secretariat of the 2001 <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/2001-convention/" target="_blank">Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage</a></strong></span> explains:</p> <p>For 90% of human existence, sea levels have been lower than they are at present. As humans mainly lived close to the water, a large majority of humanity’s development took place on areas that are now submerged. It is only within the past decade that there has been recognition of how important the missing data on the submerged shelf is.</p> <p>Underwater cultural heritage can also help to assess the impact of the ocean on human life, and assist in monitoring issues such as <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-shipwrecks-leaking-oil-20151031-story.html" target="_blank">potential ocean pollution</a></strong></span> from oil and the threat of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081210-pacific-shipwrecks-missions.html" target="_blank">unexploded ammunition</a></strong></span> from WWII shipwrecks. Guérin argues that protecting and researching this heritage can lead to better conservation of coastal and marine areas, with increased economic benefits for <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sids" target="_blank">small island developing states</a></strong></span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category.html" target="_blank">least developed countries</a></strong></span><strong> </strong>through tourism.</p> <p><strong>An ocean without history?</strong></p> <p>Like fish stocks and coral reefs, underwater cultural heritage faces destruction from <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1296207416300334" target="_blank">climate change</a></strong></span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/sifter/shipwrecks-may-crumble-faster-after-oil-spills" target="_blank">marine pollution</a></strong></span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://explorers.org/pdf/Damien_Leloup_Unearthing_History_in_Porcelain__Flag_132_Dec2013.pdf" target="_blank">over-development</a></strong></span>. Industrial activities like fishing are becoming a greater concern.</p> <p>Commercial <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080307/full/news.2008.658.html" target="_blank">deep-sea fishing trawlers</a></strong></span> destroy not only fishing stocks but also well-preserved wrecks. These bottom trawl nets act like ploughs, digging up the ocean bed and tearing archaeological sites apart. In the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://badewanne.fi/ghost-nets/" target="_blank">Baltic Sea</a></strong></span>, thousands of synthetic fishing nets are lost every year. These <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/publications-files/Ghostfishing_DFG.pdf" target="_blank">“ghost nets”</a></strong></span> get tangled in wrecks, trapping fish and seals in the process. In Southeast Asia, historic shipwrecks in both Malaysia and Thailand face destruction from <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=jr81DgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA15&amp;lpg=PA15&amp;dq=Wrecked+twice+:+shipwrecks+as+a+cultural+resource+in+Southeast+Asia+/+Michael+Flecker&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=OFPlfA5Duu&amp;sig=HW75N8uCtDdC9CDRNal3_qA2S50&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjL1rS-953UAhWSQpQKHRuyCo4Q6AEINzAE#v=onepage&amp;q=Wrecked%20twice%20%3A%20shipwrecks%20as%20a%20cultural%20resource%20in%20Southeast%20Asia%20%2F%20Michael%20Flecker&amp;f=false" target="_blank">“massive trawl nets that scour every metre of the seabed”</a></strong></span>.</p> <p>Just as fishing stocks are targeted by illegal poachers, so too is underwater heritage threatened by illegal salvaging and looting. The recent unauthorized disturbance of three near-pristine Japanese shipwrecks in Malaysian waters has destroyed the thriving marine ecosystems that such wrecks support. The damage caused to these <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-much-of-human-history-is-on-the-bottom-of-the-ocean-peter-campbell" target="_blank">underwater museums</a></strong></span> has had a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/09/images-reveal-three-more-japanese-wwii-shipwrecks-torn-apart-for-scrap" target="_blank">devastating impact</a></strong></span> on local diving companies and small-scale fishermen. In Indonesia, these illicit activities appear to be becoming <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/ghost-ships-why-are-world-war-ii-naval-wrecks-vanishing-in-indonesia-72799" target="_blank">increasingly sophisticated and audacious</a></strong></span>, including the most recent damage to HMAS Perth.</p> <p><strong>Heritage in the margins</strong></p> <p>Despite its importance, underwater cultural heritage remains a relatively new concept, and tends to be overshadowed by other legal and policy priorities. At this week’s UN oceans conference in New York, plenary meetings are focusing on reducing marine pollution, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, and addressing ocean acidification. Underwater cultural heritage, meanwhile, was discussed in a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://oceanconference.un.org/index.php?page=view&amp;type=20000&amp;nr=1319&amp;menu=3327" target="_blank">side event</a></strong></span> held in the margins.</p> <p>The 2001 underwater heritage convention establishes basic principles for protecting these sites, but faces a number of challenges. Only 56 nations have <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.unesco.org/eri/la/convention.asp?KO=13520&amp;language=E&amp;order=alpha">signed or ratified the convention</a>,</strong></span> and big maritime nations such as the US, China, and the UK have not. Australia has not ratified, but introduced <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.joshfrydenberg.com.au/guest/mediaReleasesDetails.aspx?id=288" target="_blank">new underwater cultural heritage legislation</a></strong></span> in November 2016 that brings this step closer. The heritage convention also faces the problem of perceived competition with the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm" target="_blank">Law of the Sea</a></strong></span>, which sets the rules for how the oceans are shared and governed.</p> <p>And what of HMAS Perth? In a strange twist of history, in the 1970s the Australian Embassy in Jakarta became aware that the bell of the ship had turned up in an Indonesian salvage yard. The embassy successfully negotiated the bell’s exchange, and it is now held in the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/REL/07771/" target="_blank">Australian War Memorial</a></strong></span>: a small piece of history saved through cultural diplomacy.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="237" height="463" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40467/hmas-3.jpg" alt="HMAS 3"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Caption:The bell of HMAS Perth is returned to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, in the mid-1970s. Image credit: Bob Morrison.</em></p> <p>Underwater cultural heritage is an essential part of our oceans and the way we relate to them. As important as it is to ensure a sustainable future for our oceans, it is also vital that we understand humanity’s historical relationship with them. Our future is invested in our oceans, and so is our past.</p> <p><em>Written by Natali Pearson. First appeared on <a href="http://www.theconversation.com" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Conversation.</span></strong></a> Hero Image credit: navy.gov.au</em></p>

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A trillion tonne iceberg just broke off Antarctica

<p>One of the largest ever recorded icebergs has broken off from Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica. </p> <p>With an estimated area of around 5,800 square km and a weight of more than a trillion tonnes, it is one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.</p> <p>Scientists have been monitoring the crack in the Larsen C ice shelf for almost a decade so it was no surprise the iceberg finally broke off.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U28yPQ7Gs1M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>“The iceberg is one of the largest recorded and its future progress is difficult to predict,” said Adrian Luckman, professor at Swansea University and lead investigator of Project MIDAS, which has been monitoring the ice shelf for years.</p> <p>“It may remain in one piece but is more likely to break into fragments. Some of the ice may remain in the area for decades, while parts of the iceberg may drift north into warmer waters,” he added.</p> <p>The giant iceberg is now a hazard for ships around the continent. The iceberg has also left the Larsen C ice shelf reduced in area by more than 12 per cent.</p> <p>Dr Martin O’Leary, a Swansea University glaciologist and member of the MIDAS project team, said:</p> <p>“Although this is a natural event, and we’re not aware of any link to human-induced climate change, this puts the ice shelf in a very vulnerable position. This is the furthest back that the ice front has been in recorded history. We’re going to be watching very carefully for signs that the rest of the shelf is becoming unstable.”</p> <p>Have you ever been to Antarctica? Share your experience with us in the comments below. </p>

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