The M/S Explorer has been listing for hours
Enlarge Image
The M/S Explorer is now lying on its side close to the South Shetland Islands, in the Antarctic Ocean.
Gap Adventures, which owns the ship, said 91 passengers, nine guides and 54 crew members were safely evacuated to lifeboats and then to another ship.
The company said 23 Britons, 17 Dutch, 10 Australians, 13 Americans and 10 Canadians were among the 154 on board.
The remaining nationalities of the rescued tourists are Irish, Danish, Swiss, Belgian, Japanese, French, German and Chinese, said the Toronto-based tour company.
There was confusion earlier over crew and passenger numbers due to uncertainty at Gap Adventures.
Following the news of the incident, the specialist Lloyds List maritime publication said the 2,400-tonne Explorer had five faults at its last inspection.
We were passing through ice as usual but this time something hit the hold and we got a little leakage downstairs
Peter Svensson
first officer
Worldwide rescue hub In pictures: Ship rescue Lure of polar extremes
However, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), whose inspectors found the faults, said that they had all been rectified by the time the ship set sail again.
"These were not huge problems and were all rectified before the vessel sailed. It would not have been allowed to depart if everything had not been sorted out," MCA spokesman Mark Clarke told PA news.
All passengers and crew were transferred to a Norwegian cruise ship, the Nordnorge.
'In good spirits'
The passengers were going to stay overnight at a Chilean air force base on King George Island, before being transferred on Saturday for flights home, said Gap Adventures.
"They are all in good spirits," company spokeswoman Marie Anne MacRae told the BBC News website.
Paola Palavecino, an ornithologist onboard the rescue ship, the Nordnorge, told the BBC that four of those rescued had suffered moderate hypothermia, but that they were all fine now, having eaten and been given additional warm clothes:
"They have been in touch with their families, in the different countries and they're waiting to arrive in the Chilean base Frei to take a flight tomorrow to Punta Arenas," she added.
The group had embarked from Ushuaia, on Argentina's southern tip, on 11 November for a 19-day "Spirit of Shackleton" cruise through the Drake Passage.
The captain and the first officer abandoned the Liberian-registered Explorer after initially remaining on board to pump water.
First officer Peter Svensson told Reuters: "We were passing through ice as usual. But this time something hit the hold and we got a little leakage downstairs.
"No one was hysterical, they were just sitting there nice and quiet, because we knew there were ships coming."
'Deficiencies'
According to a report on Lloyds List's website, the Explorer was found to have five "deficiencies" at an inspection in May at Greenock, Scotland, by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
Watertight doors were described as "not as required", while lifeboat maintenance problems and missing search and rescue plans were also noted.
The hull has a hole the size of a fist and the outlook is not so positive for the ship at the moment
Susan Hayes, vice-president of marketing for Gap Adventures
Chilean port inspectors also found six deficiencies during an inspection in Puerto Natales in March, including two related to navigation matters, said Lloyds List.
Gap Adventures said the Explorer was passed as fit for sea by inspectors in October this year at a dry dock before their tourist season began.
The MCA said it became aware at 0524 GMT on Friday that the expedition ship was in distress near King George Island.
It ran into trouble approximately 120km (75 miles) north of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Susan Hayes, vice-president of marketing for Gap Adventures, said: "The hull has a hole the size of a fist and the outlook is not so positive for the ship at the moment."
The company said the pumps had been used in an effort to stop the ship sinking. But the vessel is now lying on one side, with its hull exposed.
The rescue operation was co-ordinated by the Ushuaia coastguard.
Prices for the 19-day tour start from around $8,000 (£3,900) per cabin.
Gap Adventures said that before Friday's incident, the tour group had visited the Falkland Islands to spot black-browed albatrosses, before going to South Georgia to see Shackleton's grave and the king penguin colonies.
Coastguards said the weather conditions were good for this time of year, though the average temperature is still -5C.
M/S EXPLORER Built: 1969, Finland
Capacity: 100 passengers
Tonnage: 2,400 Cruising speed: 11 knots
Engines: 3,800 hp diesels
Crew: 54 First custom-built expedition ship Known as the 'Little Red Ship' to aficionados Became the first passenger vessel to navigate the North West passage in 1984 Involved in rescue of crew from Argentine cargo vessel off Anvers Island, Antarctica, in 1989
You can send your pictures and moving footage to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 0044 (0)7725 100 100
When taking photos or filming please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.
Name:
Email address:
Town and Country:
Phone number (optional):
Comments:
The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.
The ''MS Nordnorge'', the cruise ship to which ''Explorer'''s passengers and crew have been transferred.
All passengers and crew from the stricken Canadian cruise ship ''MS Explorer'' are safe. Since broadcasting a call for help at approximately 05:24 UTC, a number of vessels in the area have raced to rescue her 156 passengers and crew. Four vessels led by the cruise ship the ''Endeavour'' were the first to arrive and pick up the evacuees from lifeboats and RIBs, later being transferred to the Norwegian ship, ''MS Nordnorge''.

In less than one hour all passengers and crew, said to be cold but in good health, were safely transferred to the ''Nordnorge'', and that vessel is now heading towards King George Island, three or four hours steaming away. Speaking on the BBC's News 24, the captain of the ''Nordnorge'' said that he was heading for the Chilean research station, from where it is expected that all can be flown back to the South American mainland.

Off the South Shetland Islands the ship struck an underwater object (believed to be a submerged iceberg ) the Explorer developed a fist sized crack and began taking on water. Initially said to be listing to starboard at 25° the Argentine Coast Guard reports that the list has since increased to 45° and the vessel is expected to sink soon. Concerns now turn to possible environmental concerns and damage. 

The rescue effort was an international affair involving the coast guards of Argentina, USA, Chile and the UK. The UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency received notification from the US Coast Guard between 5.30-6.00 asking for the ''Explorer'''s emergency data plans.