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Cruise ship carrying 105 aground in Antarctica
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-18 17:16

The Ocean Nova, a Bahamas flagged cruiser with 104 people aboard which conducted a tour of Antarctica, is seen stranded near the Argentine San Martin base February 17, 2009. [Agencies]

The passengers were on their eighth day of a nearly two-week expedition exploring the polar circle that embarked from Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost city.

Ocean Nova officials informed the San Martin base that the ship should be able to break free on its own as the tide rises.

"We're going to take all the passengers off to be extra safe," Shaw said.

Inspections of the ship may take some time, and the company wants passengers to be able to continue on their expedition, he said.

The Chilean and Argentine navy have dispatched the Spanish-flagged ship Hesperides and another vessel, the Clipper Adventure, to coordinate retrieval of the passengers.