A French father and his teenage daughter are missing after a Greek cruise ship carrying 1600 passengers and crew was evacuated when it struck rocks near the Aegean island of Santorini. The Greek-flagged cruise ship, the Sea Diamond, listed dangerously after hitting a reef half a nautical mile offshore as it was preparing to dock at Santorini, prompting a major evacuation effort on Thursday. Within minutes of the multi-decked vessel beginning to list, warships, helicopters, military aircraft, ferries and fishing boats were called in to help. The 400-strong crew used boats and ladders to evacuate the passengers, among whom were 730 Americans, 112 Spaniards, 100 French and many other nationalities including Germans, Britons and Australians, the cruise company said. The 143-metre Sea Diamond, operated by Cyprus-based Louis Hellenic Cruise Lines, sank early yesterday in a bay near Santorini where it had been towed after the accident.
News Story courtesy of The Age - Photo courtesy of Reuters

The m/v Sea Diamond, after striking rocks off the coast of the island of Santorini, Greece.

Nine crew members of a Panamanian-flagged iron ore carrier were missing after being swept off the bow of the 98,600-tonne "Giant Step" late on Friday after the vessel became stranded in high seas near Tokyo after a fire. Seventeen others were rescued although one later died in hospital, the Coast Guard said. The crew consisted of 25 Indians and one Sri Lankan. The vessel had been carrying 190,000 tonnes of iron ore from Port Walcott, Australia and was heading for Kashima Port when the tragedy struck. The crew consisted of 25 Indians and 1 Sri Lankan.

The m/v Giant Step, broken in two, off the coast of Japan.

On 24th July, 2006 the Singapore flagged Car Carrier m/v Cougar Ace tipped over on the coast of Alaska. All crew were rescued but the same could not be said for the 4,700 mazdas aboard at the time. The cause is beleived to have been some problem with the ballast being adjusted in the open sea. The vessel is stable and not sinking and a salvage is underway.

The m/v Cougar Ace, off the coast of Alaska, tipped over due to some problem with the ballast.

At about 1430 hrs on 16 Aug 06 a distress alert was received by MRCC(Port Blair) from unidentified vessel in position about 25 nautical miles south of Katchal island in Andaman & Nicobar. As no further updates were received after the alert, MRCC (Port Blair) continued the efforts to find out the details of the vessel through database and contacting MRCCs of neighbouring countries i.e Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. However, no details were available. Meanwhile, MV Shakti which sailed from Campbell Bay was diverted for search and rescue assistance. ICG Dornier aircraft was also launched from Port Blair at about 1530 hrs on 17 Aug 06. At about 1400 hrs on 17 Aug 06, MV Shakti sighted car carrier MV Mac, (flag - Indonesia) aground off Meroe island about 25 nautical miles south of Katchal island. IAF was requested to evacuate the stranded crew by helicopter AM 18 Aug 06. ICG Dornier aircraft was launched at about 1015 hrs on 18 Aug 06 from Port Blair and reported sighting of approximately 14 persons close to the vessel with three tents rigged ashore. No oil pollution was observed in the vicinity of the vessel. The vessel was proceeding to Alang for ship breaking and the owner was responsible for the safe arrival of the vessel till Alang. All the 14 crew members have been evacuated by IAF helicopter AM 19 Aug 06 and are presently at Port Blair undergoing immigration checks by immigration department (A&N administration). ICG is closely monitoring the area for any oil pollution and has advised the owner to initiate measures to salvage the grounded vessel at the earliest.

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