Mona Lisa reported aground - ship to be evacuated - Page 2

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 04:53 AM

Quote:

RIGA, Latvia (AP) - Tug boats were struggling Monday to free a stranded cruise ship with nearly 1,000 people on board, and the head of the coast guard recommended the ship be evacuated.

The Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa was on its way from Kiel, Germany, to Riga when it ran aground Sunday on a sand bank about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the Latvian coast. Coast guard officials said the ship was not damaged and the passengers, mostly Germans, were safe and not at risk. Three tug boats tried unsuccessfully to pull the ship off the sand bank Sunday, and a fourth tug boat was added as the rescue operation resumed early Monday, officials said.

Rescuers also pumped out the ship's fuel to make it lighter, but were still unable to free the vessel, officials said. Coast Guard Service head Hermanis Cernovs told The Associated Press that he had recommended that the 984 people aboard the Mona Lisa be evacuated, but added that the final decision was up to the captain. Passengers still have full use of the liner's onboard facilities, including access to fresh water, officials said.

The cause of the accident was being investigated. However, weather was not a factor, coast guard spokeswoman Liene Ulbina said Sunday. The ship has a crew of 237, including three U.S. citizens. The captain is a Greek national, she said.

Latvian coast guard struggling to free stranded cruise ship; evacuation recommended

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 05:27 AM

From this photo of Mona Lisa aground, it looks very calm seas which will obviously make things safer for those aboard while the attempts to refloat her continue.

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 06:32 AM

Reports are now saying that all passengers & crew aboard Mona Lisa are to be evacuated. The Latvian authorities have made the decision. More information will be posted as it is released.

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Latvian authorities are preparing to evacuate nearly 1,000 people from a cruise ship stuck on a sandbank.

Tugs have been trying to free the Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa, which ran aground off Latvia on Sunday.

There is no immediate risk to the passengers, most of whom are German, coastguard officials say.

The Mona Lisa, which is German-owned, was sailing from the Polish port of Gdansk to the Latvian capital Riga when it hit a sandbank.

A total of 984 people are aboard the ship, 747 of them passengers.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Mass evacuation from Baltic ship

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 06:55 AM

A few photos of the ship and the work trying to get her off the sandbank

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 12:01 PM

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Riga - A Swedish company on Monday sent a powerful towboat to help free a German cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Latvia in the Baltic Sea, Latvian officials said. Swedes will work to free the ship at the request of the ship's owner, Germany's Lord Nelson Seereisen shipping company, Latvian navy coastguard service head Hermanis Cernovs was quoted by the Baltic News Service as saying.

Earlier on Monday, the Latvian coastguard began evacuating nearly 1,000 people aboard a stranded cruise ship in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia, officials said.

The 747 passengers who were mostly elderly Germans, and the crew boarded two naval ships which would take them to the seaport city of Ventspils in northwestern Latvia, Cernovs said.

"Everything is taking place peacefully and the weather is suitable," coast guard spokeswoman Liene Ulbina told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.

The passengers will be checked into hotels and are expected to stay in Riga tonight, the German Embassy's press office told dpa.

"People are very calm. They have a lot of humour about it. They didn't pay a lot for the cruise," a ship employee, Martins Mironovs, told Latvian National Radio on Monday.

The Bahamas-registered vessel was en route to Riga with 981 people aboard when it ran aground Sunday, officials said.

The captain decided to evacuate the passengers off of the 173-metre (567-foot) Mona Lisa after unsuccessful efforts to pull it free on Sunday and Monday, Ulbina said. The Latvian coast guard tried to free the 42-year-old ship with four tugboats during the night.

The air force and border guards were on standby although there were no signs of damage to the Mona Lisa, which was stranded in the Irbe strait between Latvia and the Estonian island of Saaremaa, 17 kilometres from the shore. The cause of the accident remains unclear.

The captain of the ship is a Greek national and the officers are from Ukraine, the Baltic News Service reported.

In the evening, passengers will be taken by a specially-organised train to the Latvian capital, Riga, 160 kilometres east of Ventspils. They would be booked into hotels and sent home by plane, officials said.

Swedish company to help free strained ship in Baltic Sea - Summary : Travel General

**Ally** · 05-05-2008, 01:46 PM

Mona Lisa has been safely evacuated by the Latvian Navy. Further attempts will now be made to free the ship from the sandbar once a Swedish salvage tug arrives on scene.

**Ally** · 05-06-2008, 03:41 AM

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Riga - More than 650 passengers, mostly elderly Germans, who were evacuated from a cruise ship stranded off Latvia were beginning to head home, LNT TV reported Tuesday.

At least 300 passengers boarded a charter flight Tuesday morning back to Germany from the Riga airport after spending a night at hotels in the Latvian capital. Another charter flight was scheduled in the afternoon, the TV channel reported.

The passengers were evacuated Monday from the Mona Lisa cruise ship, which ran aground Sunday in the Irbe strait between Latvia and the Estonian island of Saaremaa, 17 kilometres from shore.

The efforts to return the 201-metre cruise ship to deep waters were continuing.

A rescue team arrived at the request of Germany's Lord Nelson Seereisen shipping company, which chartered the 42-year-old ship, Coast Guard Service spokeswoman Liene Ulbina told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The authorities also evacuated to shore 11 crew members who are to remain in the western Latvian town of Ventspils, 37 kilometres from the Mona Lisa.

Another 332 crew members remained on the ship along with experts from the Latvian Navy, Coast Guard Service and Maritime Administration.

The cause of the accident remained under investigation.

Passengers from stranded cruise ship start to head home | Top News

**Ally** · 05-06-2008, 09:38 AM

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Foto session possible cause of cruise vessel grounding

SSG-TALLINN. The grounding of the cruise vessel Mona Lisa some 10 nautical miles from the Latvian coast on Sunday morning, might be investigated by the flag state Bahamas.

The vessel is stuck in the sand on the wrong side of the Kolka lighthouse. Sarma Kocane, spokesperson for the Latvian Maritime Administration says to SSG that the authority will carry out a preliminary investigation and that the grounding may have been caused by a significant navigational error.

The Latvian minister of defence, Vints Veldre, visited the vessel on Sunday. According to the Latvian news agency LETA, he said that the master had manouvered the vessel to give the passengers a better view for photography at the Kolka lighthouse.

According to news agency BNS, 651 passengers and eleven crewmembers had been evacuated by Monday evening, with 300 crewmembers remaining aboard. Of those, 68 are Ukrainians. The company has ordered powerful tugs from Sweden and Holland to refloat the vessel.

Published: 06.05.08 14.08

Latest news | Scandinavian Shipping Gazette

**Ally** · 05-06-2008, 09:41 AM

Quite an amazing photo of Mona Lisa on the sandbank...and the flattest calmest sea that you could probably ask for