Some call him an adventurer, but in fact Arved Fuchs is a renowned polar explorer. He has been undertaking expeditions in the Arctic region for more than 40 years – and the 69-year-old wanted to tackle such a mission with his crew and the ship “Dagmar Aaen”. just on the way to the island of Jan Mayen and then to East Greenland. “Ocean Change 2022” is the name of the tour, which is also intended to examine changes in coastlines caused by climate change. But now this project has to be postponed.
The reason: Fuchs suffered an acute intestinal hemorrhage at the intermediate station in Iceland. This was announced by his Hamburg liaison office on Wednesday afternoon. The Bad Bramstedter had therefore gone to medical treatment, the operation had been successful and Fuchs was in inpatient care. “The healing process is currently stable,” said spokesman Jannes Vahl. As expedition leader, however, he will be absent for an indefinite period, which is why the current stage of the expedition series “has to be canceled for the time being”. The “Dagmar Aaen” will remain in the port of Húsavík for the time being, as will the crew, “until everyone knows more.”
Arved Fuchs became known through the documentation of many of his journeys and through numerous books. He became very popular when, together with the mountain expert Reinhold Messner, he was the first person ever to cross Antarctica on foot via the South Pole. He also drew attention to the consequences of climate change in the polar regions early on. The current expedition series “Ocean Change” has been dealing with changes in the oceans and their effects on coastal landscapes since 2015. The aim of this project, in addition to collecting scientific data, is to inform and sensitize the interested public to protect the oceans and the global climate.