Alaskan Cruise Ship: Empress of the North Passengers Abandon Ship

A Cruise ship ran aground off the Alaska coast early Monday, and more than 200 passengers were being transferred to life boats and a nearby barge, Coast Guard officials said.  According to broadcast reports, the passengers now in the process of having to abandon ship. Coast Guard craft were sent to the 360-foot-long Empress of the North, about 15 miles southwest of Juneau on Alaska's eastern peninsula in an area called Icy Straits.

Alaskan Cruise Ship: Empress of the North Passengers Abandon Ship

The Associated Press is reporting that The 360-foot Empress of the North, carrying 281 people, was listing by about 6 degrees after hitting a rock at the southern end of the Icy Strait, about 15 miles southwest of Juneau, said Petty Officer Christopher D. McLaughlin at the Coast Guard base in Kodiak.

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Dan Miller, a spokesman for owner Majestic America, told Fox News it was not in danger of sinking. "It is stable and is under its own power and as soon as all the guests and crew are transferred off, she will make her way under her own power over to Juneau where we will assess the damage," Miller said.

The Empress of the North hit Hanus Rock in the Icy Strait, south-west of the town of Juneau, a US Coast Guard spokesman said.  Coast Guard aircraft were sent after a mayday message was received from the vessel, operated by the Majestic America Line of Seattle.