French cruise ship makes mercy dash to Bluff from Sub Antarctic islands after passenger falls ill

Passengers on a trip of a lifetime around the Sub Antarctic islands are set to make an unscheduled stop in Bluff after one of their number suffered an unknown medical problem.

Luxury liner Le Soléal of French cruise company Ponant is midway through an expedition around the remote and windswept islands in the Southern Ocean, between New Zealand and Antarctica.

Le Soléal has already visited the Snares and Auckland Islands and was set to head further south to the tundra of Australia’s Macquarie Island when one passenger suffered an unknown medical problem, the Herald understands.

As a result, the ship has turned north and is heading towards Bluff where she is set to dock about 2pm on Thursday at Berth 5, departing an hour later according to Southport’s schedule.

At its cruising speed of 12.6 knots (25.9km/h) the journey from the Auckland Islands would take a little over 19 hours.

Cruise liner Le Soleal has turned north and is heading towards Bluff where she is set to dock about 2pm on Thursday. Photo / Supplied

The Herald has sought comment from Ponant.

Live tracking information on the cruise line’s website showed that as of 7.30pm on Wednesday the ship is midway between the Auckland Islands and Stewart Island.

Before heading into the Southern Ocean, Le Soléal left Port Chalmers in Dunedin on December 28, before visiting Stewart Island, Fiordland, then the Snares and Auckland Islands. It was set to anchor off Macquarie Island on Wednesday.

Maritime NZ’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre said it was aware of the incident but was not a lead agency. St John has been approached for comment.