Coast Guard Rescues Grounded Cruise Ship

Officials did not speculate as to why or how the Spirit grounded itself. No one was injured in the incident. File photo, Alaska Superstation ABC®.

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by Jamey Kirk

Story Created: Jul 8, 2008 at 12:05 PM AKST

Story Updated: Oct 12, 2010 at 4:06 PM AKST

51 passengers and crew aboard the Spirit of Glacier Bay had to be off-loaded with the assistance of the Coast Guard on Monday. The ship ran aground near Glacier Bay National Park shortly after 7:00 a.m.

Investigators determined that it would have been unsafe to keep the passengers on board during the retrieval operations. On board passengers were taken via the Fairweather to Gustavus.

The ship returned to costal waters that afternoon.

"The situation as our investigators have reported back, there is no concern of oil spill the hull is intact as we investigated and we did a hull inspection. Everything is still intact. We have taken some preventive measures in putting boom around the vessel as it begins to re-float this afternoon," said U.S. Coast Guard Seventeenth District Captin Soctt W. Robert.

The Spirit was scheduled to return to Auke Bay in the day's late evening hours.
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