Tour companies expected to fight Antarctic protection

International cruise ship operators are expected to meet world experts on Antarctica in Wellington next month in a bid to water down proposals for environmental protection from tourism in the Southern Ocean.

New Zealand has argued it is critical for the cruise ship industry to recognise the Southern Ocean as a remote, inhospitable and dangerous place for tourist vessels.

The United States is pushing for mandatory limits on the size of Antarctic cruise ships and the number of passengers they put ashore.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has called for stricter controls on ships in the region, warning that otherwise there will be a disaster. "Tourist ships pose a significant risk not only to human life but also to a pristine, fragile environment."

Mr McCully has predicted that, if nothing is done, "it will be only a matter of time before there is a disaster in the Southern Ocean".

Next month's Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts will canvass threats from too many visitors, oil spills, grounded ships and other accidents.

According to Mr McCully, the three-day meeting, starting on December 9, will focus on how to prevent a major maritime accident, and how to put controls around the rapidly expanding but inadequately regulated industry. He said the number of people cruising in Antarctic waters had quadrupled to 46,000 in the past 15 years, which has resulted in visits from bigger tourist ships not suited to the conditions.

The Wellington meeting comes one year after 122 people had to be rescued from an Argentinian cruise ship, the Ciudad de Ushuaia, that was leaking and adrift in Antarctic waters.

Two years ago, a Norwegian cruise liner, Fram, floated adrift in the same region with 256 passengers and 70 crew on board after its engines failed, and 154 people abandoned the Canadian-owned ship Explorer, which sank after hitting an iceberg - leaving a massive fuel slick.

Mr McCully said the conference would be attended by experts from the 47 countries party to the Antarctic Treaty, along with representatives from the tourism industry, institutions and non-government organisations.

Mandatory limits to the size of cruise ships and number of visitors are under consideration, but have met resistance from the tour industry.

A 100,000-tonne cruise ship the Golden Princess - capable of carrying 3800 passengers and crew - has altered the complexion of Antarctic tourism, according to Alan Hemmings, a polar policy specialist at Canterbury University. Sailing a vessel which is not ice- strengthened in the Southern Ocean raised the possibility of having to rescue 4000 people at once.

Environmentally, the influx of tourists has already caused problems by introducing invasive plant species to the Antarctic peninsula.

According to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, visitor numbers have risen from 6700 in the 1992-93 season to 29,500 in the 2006-07 summer, and hit 45,213 last summer.

The organisation considers that voluntary guidelines for tours and cruises operated by its members are adequate, and that the problem lies with unaffiliated cruise and tour operators.

Recommendations from the Wellington meeting will be presented to the 33rd Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Uruguay in May.

NZPA