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Reports have appeared that Louis Cruises have had the port of Santorini surveyed underwater, at their own expense, and it appears the charts issued by the Greek Hydrographic Service and in use at the time of their ' Sea Diamond ' going aground were wrong.
This could be a very interesting development as they have found that a reef which was shown as being between 18 and 22 Mtrs. under the water was only 5 Mtrs. below the water !
The draft of the Sea Diamond was 6.1 Mtrs.
The reef was also listed as stretching for a distance of 57 Mtrs. from the shore line but when measured was found to stretch 131 Mtrs. from the shore line.
Neil ( Bob )
Ernie
Pam
That said, if the chart was incorrect, I imagine that would absolve the ship's officers and Louis of a great deal of responsibility.
I expect it is a case of getting in as close to the landing jetty as possible so that passengers being taken ashore by tender do not have too far to travel.
If part of the hull was stuck on the reef in attempting to free her, using the side thrusters and ships engines, it is possible she moved closer to the cliffs which caused more damage to the ship and may have ripped a hole in the hull.
On some days in the summer season you can have up to seven ships in this port at the same time so it is fairly crowded.
I doubt it, but seismic records from many points would clear up this matter. There does not have to be overt surface vulcanism for faultline activity to take place. But you do not move tons of landscape around without generating some (seismic) noise!
quote: It is worth saying that the Greek authorities and Navy have disputed Louis' claims and state that current charts are correct. Of course it may depend on tides etc ?
I understand that the Greek authorities are indeed standing firm on the accuracy of the existing charts, so that argument will go on for a long while, I think. It might be interesting to see what the reaction would be if Louis did something like publish the raw survey data - that might be harder to argue with.
As regards the tide, although I'm sure there is some tidal range I don't recall it as being very great. In fact a quick search on Google suggests that it's in the range 10 - 80cms.
I would think that Louis Cruises would publish any information they have uncovered by the new underwater survey of the harbour at Santorani if the authorities are disagreeing with them.
It should be remembered that not only has the company been fined over 1.5 million Dollars/Euros, ( depending on which report you read ), but there is also the impending claims for damages against the company by many of the passengers, including those from America, that were on that final cruise of the ' Sea Diamond '.
There is also the pending court cases against the ships officers.
Sulphur fumes certainly bubble up from the harbour floor and polute the air, as I noticed when I was there in October on Louis Cruises latest cruise ship ' Cristal ', so it is possible that there is also some discharge of lava from the remains of the volcano.
There is also frequent small earthquake activity around the islands which could affect the depth of water in some areas.
Interesting, since Louis Hellenic Cruises paid 35m for the vessel in 2006!
quote:Originally posted by recab:According to Lloyd´s List: "Sea Diamond $55m hull and machinery claim paid out" to owners.Interesting, since Louis Hellenic Cruises paid 35m for the vessel in 2006!
+ $12m for refit !!!!
I don't think any company would risk their good name for $8m especially in times when they are in expansion mode and accounts are healthy.
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