MS ''National Geographic Endeavour'' was a small expedition ship operated by Lindblad Expeditions for cruising in remote areas, particularly the polar regions.

History

The ship was originally a

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

built in 1966 as ''Marburg'', and converted to carry passengers in 1983. First named ''North Star'', then ''Caledonian Star''; she received her present name in June 2001. On March 2, 2001, the ship was struck by a 30-metre-high

rogue wave A rogue wave is an abnormally large ocean wave. Rogue wave may also refer to: * Optical rogue waves, are rare pulses of light analogous to rogue or freak ocean waves. * Rogue Wave Software, a software company * Rogue Wave (band), an American in ...

while crossing the

Drake Passage The Drake Passage is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn, Chile, Argentina, and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea) with the southeastern part of the Pa ...

. The wave smashed the windows of the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

and ruined the navigation and communications equipment, but did not cripple the ship. She was assisted by the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

ocean fleet tug ARA ''Alferez Sobral'' and reached

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

three days later. When ''National Geographic Endeavour'' was retired, the piano was donated to the Tomas de Berlanga school in Santa Cruz, Galapagos. The bridge ceiling, notched with

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

sightings from her time in

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

, is with Sven Lindblad. The model, valuable art and other mementos were saved. Some items were transferred to ''National Geographic Endeavour II''. ''National Geographic Endeavour'' was scrapped on 6 May 2017.

References

External links

Details of the ship
Ships built in Bremen (state) Rogue wave incidents 1966 ships Maritime incidents in 2001 Ships of Lindblad Expeditions {{cruise-ship-stub