CG ponders next step for sinking cruise ship

CG ponders next step for sinking cruise ship
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 9, 2007 10:35:22 EST

The 66 passengers and crew from a small cruise ship that ran aground Thursday near Virginia Beach, Va., can either go home with a refund or continue their trip on buses, officials said, leaving the Coast Guard and the ship’s owner to figure out what to do about the leaky 200-foot pleasure ship.

The master of the Spirit of Nantucket deliberately grounded it in the Intercoastal Waterway when crew members noticed it was taking on water, but neither the Coast Guard nor the ship’s owner, Cruise West, knows yet what caused the leaks. Nor do they know whether the ship can be temporarily patched and sail to a repair yard on its own, or whether it will have to be towed, said Coast Guard spokesman Public Affairs Specialist 2nd Class Christopher Evanson.

Local news reports said the passengers thought they felt the ship hit something, possibly a dock.

The channel in the Intercoastal Waterway is closed to boats with a draft of more than 6 feet while officials plan their next move for the Spirit of Nantucket.

“When you have a 200-foot ship stuck in the water, you don’t want to clog the area with traffic going through it,” Evanson said.

Evanson said the shipwreck posed no environmental risks; it isn’t leaking fuel or bilge.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/11/coastguard_cruiseship_salvage_071109w/

:rofl: