Cruise ship stranded in Antarctic

A cruise ship carrying 122 people has run aground on the Antarctic coast, the Argentine navy has reported. Admiral Daniel Martin said the Panama-registered ship, the Ushuaia, was leaking fuel and that a "minimal amount of water" was coming in. He told local TV that none of the passengers had been hurt and the ship was not in danger of sinking.

The navy said another passenger ship in the area was on its way to rescue those on board. Argentina and Chile are both reported to be sending a rescue mission to the Ushuaia, which is carrying 89 passengers and 33 crew members. Their nationalities were not immediately known. "The aim is to get the passengers off as soon as possible and this they're going to do with the Atlantic Dream, which will soon be arriving there," said Adm Martin, referring to the vessel making its way to the stricken ship.

The head of the Argentine National Antarctica Directorate, Mariano Memolli, said the ship ran aground in Wilhelmina Bay, a peninsula stretching towards the southern tip of South America.

Ice danger

Tourist travel to Antarctica is believed to have increased five-fold in the last 15 years. During 2006-7, more than 37,000 visited the region, according to figures from the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Most of those visitors arrived by sea. The organisation has expressed concern that some vessels are not adequately strengthened for icy seas.

This increases the risk of serious accidents and the risk of an oil spillage if a ship is damaged. A year ago, 150 people had to be evacuated to lifeboats when their ship hit an iceberg close to the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic Ocean and started sinking. The 2,400-tonne M/S Explorer had sustained a hole in its hull and eventually sank. All those on board were picked up by a nearby ship.