The ship left Ushuaia, Argentina on November 11, 2007, on a 19-day cruise intended to trace the route of 20th century explorer Ernest Shackleton through the Drake Passage (an area typically stormy with rough seas). After visiting the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island the "Explorer" hit an unidentified submerged object in the Bransfield Strait close to King George Island in the Antarctic Ocean, near the South Shetland Islands, on November 23, 2007. The object struck by the "Explorer" caused a 10-by-4 inch (25 × 10 cm) hole to the ship's port side (left side) which allowed sea water to enter the ship.