Greek Sea Diamond

Louis Cruise Lines announced May 11th that it had acquired a 26-year-old cruise ship to replace its ship Sea Diamond, which inexplicably rammed underwater rocks last month and sank just off the Greek island of Santorini. A statement from Louis Cruise Lines said it had acquired the MV Opera, a 25,611-ton cruise ship with the capacity to carry 1,278 passengers in 483 cabins. Read Full Story

The Sea Diamond is operated by Louis Cruise Lines, a Cyprus-based tourism company. "This is not an emergency situation, but people on board are being evacuated as a precaution," company spokesman Michalis Martheftis said. "Most of the passengers are American. The rest are from various different nations," he explained.None of the passengers were in danger - but a lot of vacation time was squandered! Read Full Story

The listing Greek cruise ship "Sea Diamond" was carrying nearly 1,200 passengers and 400 crew members when it was evaculated.  In these pictures it is surrounded by rescue vessels at the port of Santorini, April 5, 2007. Read Full Story

"Thankfully, everything has gone well so far. Emergency services responded very quickly and very well," said Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis. Everyone was evaculated on Thursday. Sounds like folks are safe and sound. Read Full Story

The Greek merchant marine reported that a 300 foot "brown slick" surrounded the shipwreck, less than a nautical mile from the island harbour of Thira. "We do not have a problem yet, but we are preparing for any eventuality," the merchant marine reported.  "We have sent four anti-pollution vessels to the area, and we will have patrols there on a daily basis." Hopefully the fuel tanks will be contained and a major spill can be avoided. Read Full Story