Remember that Norwegian sailing ship called Berserk that sunk off the coast of Antarctica last year? The ship was operating in the Southern Ocean without proper permits when a major storm hit the region. Three crew members lost their lives in the accident, although the captain of the vessel, Jarle Andhoey, was actually on the Antarctic continent at the time. He and another man were attempting to travel illegally to the South Pole on ATV's and were unaware of the sinking of their ship until later. When he and his companion were later rescued, Andhoey faced a criminal investigation back in Norway and was ultimately fined $5000 for not having the proper permits or insurance to operate near Antarctica.Fast forward a year and Andhoey seems to be up to his old tricks. According this story on Jon Bowermaster's website, the Norwegian sailor has returned to the Antarctic once again this year and has once again run into trouble. As of this writing, no one has seen or heard from Andhoey and his crew for nearly a week. One of the crew members did phone home to his wife using a satellite phone a few days back and reported that the ship had broken a mast and was out of diesel fuel and food, but after that there has been no direct contact with the vessel. A legal representative of Andhoey later confirmed that the ship, a 52-foot yacht named Nilaya, was in trouble and was attempting to make its way to an Argentinian base on Antarctica to seek help.
What exactly was this self-proclaimed "Viking" doing back in Antarctic waters this year? He claims he was headed back to conduct his own search for the Berserk, the ship that went missing a year ago. Of course, he was also once again operating without proper permits or insurance, which prompted officials from Norway to alter the authorities in New Zealand to keep their eyes peeled for the Nilaya.
As Jon reports in his story, Andhoey and his crew found no trace of the Berserk and were apparently attempting to reach Cape Horn and what they thought would be potential safety from prosecution in Argentina. Those waters are treacherous this time of year however and it seems that the ship has once again run into trouble and now one is sure of its whereabout at this time.
Back in January I had read about Andhoey's return to the Southern Ocean and his search for his missing ship. I had also read that he was most likely entering those waters illegally once again. At the time, I didn't want to give the guy any more publicity than he had already received. Of course, I didn't think that he could possibly run into trouble again this year, but apparently his reckless nature knows no bounds. If he were sailing solo I would simply chalk this up as someone who was too careless for his own good and say that he is only getting one he deserves. But Andhoey keeps putting the lives of others in danger as well and he may now be responsible for the deaths of several more people. If they do find him and his crew alive and adrift off the coast of Antarctica, I hope they make sure that he never sails anywhere again.
