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Hapag-Lloyd's MS Bremen Guard injured by Polar Bear.


English Voyager
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Although injured, while guarding passengers in Svalbard, Norway, the guard is being treated in hospital.

 

However, the bear was killed by another guard.

 

Apparently 18 cruise ships are due to dock this week in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

 

The programme to build more expedition ships raises the question of whether the incursion of tourists into a beleaguered wild animal's territory should be curtailed.

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Just to clarify:

 

 

There were no passengers on land by that time. The guides did go out to secure the area for the planned landing. HL strictly observes the rules given mainly be the Sysselmann (sort of governour of Svalbard). So the regular procedure is to watch the shoreline from the ship. If no bear is in sight, the guides go onshore with the first zodiac. Then they swarm out from the landing point like a star. As soon as there is a bear sighting everyone has to go back onboard. There are no "land bear safaris" (sorry, I´ve read this on FB). Bears are only viewed from the ship (as by law).

 

 

I can only imagine that the bear was sort of hidden and couldn´t be seen from the ship. Sometimes there´s sort of a bump close to the waterline with a deeper area behind.

 

 

steamboats

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English Voyager,

 

 

The video does not show any cruise ship (of any size) but obviously a private tour on a yacht out of Longyearbyen. You can do any kind of tours out of Longyearbyen.

 

 

But with a cruise ship you´re not allowed to go on land to watch polar bears. BTW we were on the MS Bremen in August 2015 and it was the first trip they were able to go all around Svalbard/Spitzbergen. With a maximum of 200 passengers and crew on land I don´t want to encounter any polar bears but be back on the ship immediately.

 

 

steamboats

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know a few people who act in this capacity as we were on their antactic trip.

One was Martin, a very gentle fellow who is a birder. We all chuckled a bit when we heard he was one of the patrollers.

It’s a risky job that we don’t appreciate enough.

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