More Than 200 Evacuated From Alaskan Cruise Ship

JoeyandDavid · May 14, 2007

Majestic America Line Cruise Ship Empress of the North Sinking Near Juneau Alaska

The Cruise ship has issued an Abandon ship order. The 360ft Empress of the North is reportedly taking on water 50 nautical miles from Juneau Alaska.

The ship has 281 passengers. Lifeboats have been dispatched. Good samaritan boats are also reportedly assisting in the rescue. Water temperatures are said to be 40-45 degrees this time of year.

The 299-foot ship was listing by about 6 degrees after hitting Hanus Rock at the southern end of the Icy Strait southwest of Juneau, Petty Officer Christopher D. McLaughlin at the Coast Guard base in Kodiak was quoted by the AP.

According to the AP, a Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter were dispatched after an emergency radio message was received at 12:35 a.m. from the ship.

More to follow.....

CanadianCruiser · May 14, 2007

Thanks for reporting this Joey, keep us updated

Suzila · May 14, 2007

According to the reports, this cruise line prides itself on having smaller ships so they can get closer to the shoreline to see the views.

Guess they got a little too close.

I don't know about the water temp, but it's only 45 degrees up there today and it's raining. How miserable is that?

jacketwatch · May 14, 2007

Another one. Wow! I hope all passengers are accounted for. Does anyone know what ever became of the search for those two French passengers lost from that Greek cruise ship sinking?

Joanandjoe · May 14, 2007

For us, the difference between this sinking and other sinkings is that we actually considered taking this ship this month, before my office told me I had to take my vacation in April or July. We propably would have gone on Regent rather than Empress of the North, but one never knows.

Joanandjoe · May 14, 2007

Here's the latest from CNN as of 12:53 p.m. Eastern time. All PAX are safe, and the ship has not sunk. What a checkered history: the ship has run aground at least three times.

(CNN) -- All of the passengers aboard a U.S. cruise ship were evacuated early Monday morning after it ran aground off the southeastern coast of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska state ferries and about 50 volunteer rescue boats removed the 248 passengers aboard the Empress of the North approximately 50 nautical miles (57 miles) from Alaska's capital, Juneau, near Icy Strait and Chatham Strait.

The ship was still flooding, but was traveling to Juneau under its own power. Thirty-three of its 75 crew members stayed on board for the trip.

An oil tank was breached, but there is no pollution in the water, officials said.

Coast Guard spokesman Mark Guillory said the Coast Guard was trying to decide where to send the ship for an investigation into why it hit rocks in the island-dotted Alaska coastal area. Empress of the North was on the second day of a seven-day cruise from Juneau.

The National Transportation Safety Board also said it is sending a team to investigate.

Dan Miller, a spokesman for the ship's owner, Majestic America cruise lines, said the passengers were being taken to Juneau.

The ship had stabilized after taking on water and listing in the chilly 45- to 50-degree Fahrenheit, glacier-fed water.

The rescue effort was conducted in rainy conditions with winds blowing at about 17 mph (15 knots).

"Not perfect, but manageable," Coast Guard Cmdr. Jeff Carter said of the weather regarding the rescue.

There were no reports of casualties or people in the water.

Carter said a tug and barge with a capacity of 200 people was sent as well as a cutter, the Liberty, and a helicopter.

In March of last year, the same ship, which was built to resemble a Mississippi River paddleboat, slammed into a sandbar while cruising the Columbia River, which separates Oregon and Washington State, according to reports.

In that incident, a sister ship, the Queen of the West, pulled alongside and took on the Empress of the North's passengers. The Empress also ran aground in the Columbia River in 2003, the year it made its debut as a cruise ship.

That incident was blamed on human error, according to reports.