Government allows beached ship to depart

  • 2008-05-14
  • Talis Saule Archdeacon
RIGA - In an unusual display of grit, government ministers first threatened to bar the Mona Lisa cruise ship, which ran aground off Latvia's northwestern coast earlier this month, from leaving the dock in Ventspils and then permitted it to do so.
Both Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis and Defense Minister Vinets Veldre had said that they would not allow the ship to leave Ventspils port until the owner paid the hefty rescue bill that the state had incurred.
Godmanis said the port would hold the ship until he received confirmation that insurers were willing to cover the cost of the evacuation, which totaled some 135,000 lats (192,000 euros).

Veldre, meanwhile, said that the coast guard and border guard had requested the help of the Navy in inspecting the ship to insure that it was up to Schengen standards. Some of the ships passengers and crew hailed from countries outside of the EU, and there were concerns that the ship did not comply with border control standards.
The ship was allowed to depart on May 8 after the government received confirmation from the insurers and owner of the ship that they would be willing to cover up to 200,000 euros of the cost of the rescue operation.
Divers found that there was no major structural damage to the ship as a result of the accident. The ship will now return to Kiel, Germany, for a more detailed inspection. The Latvian Maritime Association said the ship may require minor repairs to the screw-propeller.

The evacuees, primarily elderly German passengers and Ukrainian crew, sent the Defense Ministry letters of gratitude, highlighting the National Armed Forces' responsiveness and support, Veldre said.
The causes of the accident will possibly be investigated by Bahamian authorities. The accident is currently being blamed on a navigation error, as weather conditions had been "nearly ideal" when the ship ran aground, according to coast guard officials. 
The huge liner ran off course by some 700 meters and bypassed the Irbene lighthouse from the wrong side, representatives of Latvian rescue services said.

The cruise ship left Kiel, Germany, on May 1 for an extended tour of the Baltic Sea. Though most of the passengers were German retirees, there were also a number of Greek, Dutch, Norwegian, Czech, Spanish and English tourists on board.
The 173 meter long Mona Lisa was built in 1966. Tours are run by the German shipping company Lord Nelson Seereisen.

The liner ran aground 18 kilometers off the coast, near the fabled Kolka peninsula.
All of the ship's 651 passengers and a few crewmembers were evacuated 24 hours later.
The liner was freed from the sandbank on May 7.
This was not the first time that the Mona Lisa has run aground. It has reportedly run into trouble as many as nine times in the past. According to Spiegel, a German publication, the ship has previously been stranded in the Norwegian Fjords and in Venice, Italy.