BUENOS AIRES, February 17 (RIA Novosti) - A Bahamas-flagged cruise ship with 104 people onboard ran aground off Antarctica on Tuesday, an Argentine news channel reported.
The Ocean Nova has been stuck on a sandbank near the Antarctic base of San Marin since early Tuesday, C5N said. The vessel was to try to float off during the high tide, when the passage through ice widens.
"The hull of the 76-meter vessel that was on a cruise off Antarctic coast has not been damaged, there was no fuel leak. The situation is totally under control and passengers are not under threat," said Roberto Ulloa, a spokesman for the Argentine Navy.
Preparations to evacuate 74 passengers and 30 crew members to Argentina's Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, are underway.
In December last year, 122 people were evacuated from the cruise ship Ushuaia when it ran aground off Antarctica.
