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Another Greek Ferry Runs Aground But No Injuries
A Greek ferry with 1,081 passengers aboard has run aground as it was about to dock in an Aegean island port but there were no injuries, the merchant marine ministry said.
The incident in Naxos port occurred less than three days after another ferry with the same owner hit rocks and sank off a nearby island, Paros, killing at least 65 people -- Greece's worst maritime tragedy since the mid-1960s.
A merchant marine spokesman said the Express Artemis, a big vehicle and passenger ferry, got stuck in Naxos harbour just after midnight (2100 GMT) during a run between Piraeus and various islands in the Cycladic chain, including Paros.
"After about three hours, the ferry managed to dislodge itself by its own means and docked safely in the port. Everyone aboard was safe and passengers with destinations (other than Naxos) boarded other ferries," the spokesman told Reuters.
"The Naxos port authority have prohibited the Express Artemis from sailing onward pending a review of the incident."
The ministry spokesman said the Express Artemis' captain had attributed the grounding to unspecified mechanical failure caused by bad fuel that it had bought from another ship.
He said the ship that sold the Express Artemis the fuel was under investigation.
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