Divers were searching for two missing
passengers after the 22,400-ton Sea Diamond sank just off of
Santorini, Greece, at around 3 a.m. Friday morning, hours after a
collision with a volcanic reef, Louis Cruise Lines said.
The 20-year-old ship
scraped the volcanic reef off the Greek island on April 5 at around
4 p.m., ripping a hole in its starboard side, allowing water to
penetrate the vessel, said Nicholas Filippidis, Louis Cruise Lines
director of product development in North America.
"They tried to save
the vessel but the damage was more severe and more water was coming
in than they could get out," Filippidis said. "It was a beautiful
vessel."
According to the
Cypriot cruise line, 1,200 passengers, most of them Americans, were
evacuated from the ship shortly after the collision, as well as 400
crewmembers.
The ship had been
maneuvering to moor at the anchorage in Santorini, a port that
Louis frequently visits. Louis has not yet determined the cause of
the accident, but Filippidis said that the seas were not reported
to have been rough.
Authorities are
evaluating the situation to watch for any potential environmental
hazards due to possible oil and fuel spills from the
wreckage.
Two French tourists, a
father and his daughter, were still missing Friday afternoon.
Filippidis said that the man's wife is among the
rescued.
All of the passengers,
including eight student groups from the U.S. and Canada, were taken
aboard other Louis Cruise Lines ships, the Perla and the Aegean II,
and transferred to the Athens' port of Piraeus, for their return
trips home. Athens was the Sea Diamond's next and last scheduled
stop on the four-day itinerary.
Louis acquired the Sea
Diamond one year ago from Finland's Birka Cruises for $35 million.
Built in 1986 and refurbished in 1999, the ship carries 1,537
passengers in 584 cabins.
To
contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].