Passengers and crew from a cruise ship had an unexpected encounter with a polar bear on Sept. 2. that led to a quick retreat back on board the vessel while it was stopped at Alexandra Fjord on the eastern coast of Ellesmere Island. Seventy passengers and 14 employees were ashore at the time, but all got back safely on board.
“I am happy to tell you that there has been no ‘terrifying encounter’ or ‘panicked evacuation’ (as has been written),” Karen Schmidt of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises told Travel Industry Today.
“As per our trained and established procedures, we immediately cleared the landing site in an orderly and calmly manner,” she added. “As an additional safety procedure, one of the polar bear guards fired warning shots with a signal gun into the air to prevent the polar bear from coming closer. This procedure is mandatory and regularly practiced by both the crew and the expedition team.
“We are delighted to see polar bears in their natural habitat from a respectful distance. However, in the interest of safety for both animals and humans, we will not stay on land if a polar bear is nearby, and we will leave the landing site promptly. Of course, we have informed other ships and partners in the vicinity, with whom we are in regular contact, about this polar bear sighting.”
The polar bear was approaching from the nearby water at around 9:45 p.m. It “didn’t attack but came close to our landing side,” stated Lena-Marie Krause, junior port operations manager of destinations with TUI Cruises, who supervised the incident onboard the ship Hanseatic Nature.
The ship, operated by German-based Hapag Lloyd, had seven polar bear monitors on board, Krause said.
According to the regulations under the Nunavut Marine Tourism Management Plan, polar bear monitors provide Inuit with employment on these trips and are mandatory positions on the vessels.
Nunavut’s Department of the Environment stated that it regulates wildlife viewing by cruise ships through the issuance of wildlife observation licenses.
“As part of the application for a wildlife observation licenses, cruise ships must outline both their activity suspension and wildlife deterrence plans; and, the MS Hanseatic Nature had the appropriate plans in place,” the department wrote in an email.
“The MS Hanseatic Nature had professionals well-versed in polar bear protection protocols and carried both firearms and non-lethal deterrents. In addition to internal protocols, all cruise operators viewing wildlife in Nunavut must adhere to the Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators’ Arctic Wildlife Guidelines which detail appropriate actions during wildlife encounters. The MS Hanseatic Nature is licensed for wildlife viewing in the territory and followed all guidelines, conditions, and protocols appropriately during this encounter.”