Grounded cruise ship freed off Dominican Republic

[SANTO DOMINGO] A large cruise ship carrying 3,000 tourists that ran aground off the coast of the Dominican Republic was refloated on Tuesday following eight hours of work to free it, authorities said.

The Norwegian Escape, which ran aground on Monday after leaving Puerto Plata, was "rescued without major incidents and all the tourists and crew on board were unharmed," the Dominican navy said on social media.

The cruise ship - which has 1,600 crew members on board - returned to Puerto Plata for inspections before being allowed to set sail.

The navy said it had created an investigatory commission to look into the "factors that resulted in the cruise ship running aground."

Vice-Admiral Ramon Gustavo Betances Hernandez said on Monday that the ship had run aground due to "strong 30 knot winds." But he added that the tide would rise by around one meter at 4.00 am, thus facilitating rescue efforts.

According to Norwegian Cruise Line's website, the Norwegian Escape is over 300 m long and weighs 165,000 tons.

It can accommodate up to 4,200 passengers and 1,700 crew members. AFP