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Antarctic glacier - Source: Reuters -
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There are fears that a shipping tragedy in the Antarctic is a disaster waiting to happen if the industry is not regulated.
A major international meeting is taking place in Wellington to discuss the issues but some tour operators say the industry is already self regulated well, despite recent incidents.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully says because of the demand for cruises, shipping companies have been putting up larger vessels which are not suitable for the conditions they encounter.
He is worried that if a catastrophe occurs, there's no prospect of rescuers getting that far to deal with the thousands of people on board.
In 2007, 150 people got a little closer to the ice than they would have liked when their ship The Explorer hit an iceberg and sunk, leaving them in liferafts in freezing conditions. A total of four vessels have gone aground in Antarctica in the last three years.
Alison Lane from Maritime New Zealand says it has been fortunate none of those incidents have resulted in loss of life or serious environmental harm.
"I think they have been a real wake up call."
That is why 80 delegates from 17 countries have gathered in Wellington to come up with rules to make touring the ice safer.
Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts co-chair Olav Orheim says with tourist ships now going to the Antarctic with more than 2,000 passengers, something needs to be done.
"There are no facilities anywhere in the Antarctic that could handle such a group of people if something went wrong," Orheim says.
Recommendations are expected to include minimum safety standards for all boats and crew as well as plans for dealing with shipwrecks and oil spills.
It is hoped the standards will be adopted by the Interational Maritime Organisation so they apply to all vessels.
But the only New Zealand company to operate tours to the ice says the tourism industry has already formed an association with high standards.
Nathan Russ from Heritage Expeditions says he does not know of any cowboys in the industry.
"Every every cruise vessel that is operating to Antarctica is an IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) member at this point in time."
The New Zealand search and rescue region covers a large part of the Antarctic so we are expected to respond to many of its disasters. There's currently legislation before parliament to make those operating down there liable if there is an accident.
But it is hoped better safety standards will prevent accidents
from happening.
