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Russian passengers on Antarctica cruise liner with engine failure go on hunger strike

The liner left Cape Town on November 13 for a 20-day cruise, and passengers say they paid between $9,000 and $12,000 for the trip

LONDON, November 29. /TASS/. Russian passengers of the SH Diana cruise liner, which cut short a cruise to Antarctica due to a malfunction of one of its electric motors, have announced a hunger strike, The Times reported.

According to the newspaper, "a small group of Russian passengers have begun a hunger strike and have signs demanding full refunds."

"For a majority of us, this is our first time visiting Antarctica, and potentially the last opportunity for many," one of the hunger strikers wrote in an appeal to the company.

The liner left Cape Town on November 13 for a 20-day cruise, and passengers say they paid between $9,000 and $12,000 for the trip. There are only about 170 passengers on board the SH Diana.

Andrea Zito, the CEO of Swan Hellenic, which owns the ship, said the offer to passengers was "significantly higher than the legal requirement of approximately 30 per cent." Cruise participants are being offered a 50% refund or 65% "future cruise credit" over the next two years, the statement clarified.

Now, because of problems with one of its electric motors, the Finland-built, new-generation, advanced polar ship is traveling at just six knots (11 kilometers per hour) toward Ushuaia, a small Argentinian resort town in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The ship is expected to dock there on Saturday.

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