BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A cruise ship carrying 122 people is adrift and taking on water after running aground Thursday in the Antarctic but is in no danger of sinking, the Argentine navy said.
The Argentina-based Ushuaia -- with 89 passengers and 33 Argentine crew members -- sent out an alarm around midday after it suffered cracks and started leaking fuel and taking on water, the navy said in a statement.
Admiral Daniel Alberto Martin told television station Todo Noticias that the Ushuaia had two cracks and was being helped by another passenger ship in the area.
Two Chilean navy ships were on there way to help the Ushuaia.
The passengers are "of various nationalities" and are all in good health, Martin said.
The navy statement said the cruise ship "had run aground" but was in no danger of sinking.
It is not the first cruise ship to have trouble recently in Antarctica.
In December 2007, the Norwegian MS Fram carrying some 300 people lost engine power during an electrical outage and struck a glacier, smashing a lifeboat but causing no injuries.
On Nov. 24 of that year, another cruise vessel, the MS Explorer hit an iceberg and sank hours later. All 154 passengers and crew took to lifeboats in the icy waters and were rescued.
