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Passengers rescued from stranded Antarctic cruise ship

05-12-2008 - Eighty-nine tourists have been rescued unharmed from a cruise liner after it ran aground in the Antarctic and sent out a distress call via Inmarsat C.

Other vessels in the area immediately headed for the stricken Ushuaia, which began leaking fuel and taking on water after becoming stranded on the Faraday Peninsula on Thursday, 4 December.

The alert, sent out at 14.15 UTC, was picked up by Falmouth Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) in the United Kingdom.

Contact made 
"We alerted the authorities in Chile and Argentina and made contact with nearby vessels and the Ushuaia," said Falmouth spokesman Steve Huxley.

"Since it is summer it's relatively busy in the Antarctic, so there were a number of vessels able to respond to the distress call."

The MRCC utilised Inmarsat B to contact the stranded ship and Inmarsat Fleet to communicate with the first vessel to respond to the emergency.

All the Inmarsat services worked well despite the polar location at the outer reaches of satellite coverage.

All the passengers and five crew on the Panamanian-registered ship, which is operated by Antarctic tour specialists Antarpply Expeditions, have now been transferred to the Chilean naval vessel Aquiles and are en route to the South Shetland Islands, where they are expected to arrive at around 17.00 UTC today.

Fuel leaks stopped
No one was injured in the incident, and it is reported that the fuel leaks have been stopped and containment measures have been successful.

"There is no indication of any pollution at this stage," said Steve Huxley.

The remaining 28 members of crew remain on board the 2,802-tonne ice-strengthened polar vessel while attempts are made by a tug to free it.

The cruise ship had left the Argentinian port of Ushuaia on Sunday for an 11-day wildlife expedition around the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula.

It was originally built for the United States agency NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) but underwent refurbishment for tourism use.

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