Cruise passengers instigate hunger strike during Antarctica trip

The SH Diana remains docked in Ushuaia, a city in Argentina. Photo / Supplied

A group of travellers went on a hunger strike after the itinerary of their Antarctic cruise was changed mid-voyage.

The protests reportedly started after an unexpected issue with the propulsion electric motor stopped Swan Hellenic’s SH Diana from travelling to Antarctica during the 21-day itinerary.

Passengers had paid approximately US$8900-12,600 ($15,100-21,400) for the trip, which began in Cape Town, South Africa on November 13 and was meant to traverse the ocean towards Antarctica, the Times Of London reported.

With around 177 guests, the expedition ship was reportedly almost at capacity and the change occurred two weeks into the trip.

The ship’s propulsion electric motor experienced an “unexpected malfunction”, Swan Hellenic chief executive Andrea Zito wrote in a statement to USA Today. Instead of spending 3.5 days exploring the Antarctic Peninsula, the ship sailed slowly to Ushuaia, Argentina. It arrived around November 30 and remains at the dock as of December 5, despite being scheduled to depart on its ‘Antarctic Peninsula Odyssey’ trip on December 3.

The ship, built in 2023, has two propellers but the malfunction meant one was not operational. The captain announced they could not cross the Scotia Sea and thus would not be visiting Antarctica.

The Drake Passage is the body of water cruise ships commonly pass through when heading to Antarctica. The body of water sits between South America and the Antarctica Peninsula and is often described as one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world, with waves that can reach up to 20m high.

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There was “great collective disappointment” after guests discovered they would not get to visit Antarctica, wrote passenger Mark Stratton in the Telegraph. Passengers Frances and Michael Howorth took to Instagram to share an update. “Everyone on-board is very sad,” they wrote in a post, adding the ship would be “limping at half-speed” directly to Ushuaia, where it was expected to arrive around November 30.

Guests were allegedly offered a 50% refund or 65% future cruise credit, which Zito described as “very generous” and beyond the legal requirement.

A group of passengers then began a hunger strike, which Zito told USA Today was “rather counterproductive”.

Stratton wrote that three Russian travellers camped outside the ship’s dining room with signs demanding a 100% refund. It is unclear how long the travellers were on strike, but it has since ended.

In a letter written to Swan Hellenic by a group of passengers and shared by the Times, travellers said this had been a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“For a majority of us, this is our first time visiting Antarctica, and potentially the last opportunity for many. Some guests are elderly, disabled, and have struggled already to get to this point, only for the trip to be cut short. For many of us, visiting Antarctica is a life-long bucket-list [experience] that we want to achieve before death or disability.”

Zito said Swan Hellenic deeply regretted the disruption and understood guests’ disappointment.