Cruise ship carrying 105 aground in Antarctica

Boat pushed by ‘extremely high winds’ into craggy rocks; no one at risk

	The Ocean Nova, a Bahamas flagged cruiser with 104 people aboard which conducted a tour of Antarctica, is seen stranded near the Argentine San Martin base on Tuesday.
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updated 3:48 p.m. ET Feb. 17, 2009

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A cruise ship with 64 passengers and 41 crew members aboard ran aground near an Argentine base in Antarctica on Tuesday, but there were no risks to the people aboard, the Argentine navy and the ship's operator reported.

The Bahaman-flagged Ocean Nova ran aground about one mile (two kilometers) from the San Martin base, pushed by "extremely high winds" into craggy rocks, Quark Expeditions president Patrick Shaw told The Associated Press.

The Norwalk, Connecticut, company that operates the 240-foot long (73-meter) Danish-built ship said in a news release that "an initial assessment of damage indicated that there was no imminent danger and no threat to lives."

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"There is no sign of leakage of any kind from the vessel," the company added.

Among the passengers and crew were 21 Americans, 18 Filipinos, 17 Britons, seven Canadians, seven Australians, four Germans, five Irish, five South Africans, three Dutch, three New Zealanders, three Danish, two Argentines and one each from Switzerland, Romania, the Ukraine, Panama, Guatemala, Colombia, Russia, Indonesia and Honduras.

The passengers were on their eighth day of a nearly two-week expedition exploring the polar circle that embarked from Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost city.

Ocean Nova officials informed the San Martin base that the ship should be able to break free on its own as the tide rises.

"We're going to take all the passengers off to be extra safe," Shaw said.

Inspections of the ship may take some time, and the company wants passengers to be able to continue on their expedition, he said.

The Chilean and Argentine navy have dispatched the Spanish-flagged ship Hesperides and another vessel, the Clipper Adventure, to coordinate retrieval of the passengers.

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