MS Sea Diamond

Originally named Birka Princess, the ship was built by the Finnish state-owned company Valmet at their Vuosaari shipyard in Helsinki[https://exchange.dnv.com/Exchange/Main.aspx?EXTool=Vessel&VesselID=14467 Vessel SEA DIAMOND] - DNV Exchange at a cost of 350 million Finnish markka{{cite web |url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/birka_princess_1986.htm |title=M/S Birka Princess (1986) |accessdate=8 January 2008 |author=Micke Asklander |work=Fakta om Fartyg|language=sv}} (€58,9 million). She was delivered in 1986 and operated for Birka Line in the Baltic Sea cruiseferry market, sailing on 24-hour cruises between Stockholm in Sweden and Åland in Finland. Between 1990 and 2003 she also made longer cruises around the Baltic Sea during the summer season.

Image:Birka Princess Stockholm.jpg

Image:Ferry Birka Princess 20050902.jpg, 2005, displaying the changes made to the superstructure in the 1999 refit.]]

Between 1992 and 2002, the ship's exterior was used to portray the fictional ship MS Freja in the Swedish TV soap opera Rederiet.[http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,1040064,00.html Turister saknas efter "Frejas" förlisning] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410020205/http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,1040064,00.html |date=10 April 2007 }} - Aftonbladet {{in lang|sv}}

As built, she had a small car deck, with space for 80 passenger cars and a ramp on the port side in the rear. Like most cruiseferries in the Baltic Sea, she was built to ice class 1A.

In 1999 she was extensively refitted at Lloyd Werft in Germany at a cost of approximately US$26 million.[http://www.avstar-ph.com/downloads/LouisTakesDelivery.pdf Louis Takes Delivery of a New Large Cruise Ship] - Press release, 17 March 2006 (PDF){{Cite web|url=http://www.lloydwerft.com/e/auftraege/abgeschlossen/birka.htm|title=Birka Princess - Work carried out at Lloyd Werft}} The fore superstructure was extended and streamlined and 62 new passenger cabins were added, including a new deck of cabins above the bridge. In October 2004, when the new MS Birka Paradise was delivered, the Birka Princess started making two-night cruises from Stockholm to Turku, Helsinki and Tallinn, as well one weekly 24-hour cruise from Stockholm to Mariehamn. The new itineraries proved largely unsuccessful, and on 2 January 2006, the ship was laid up in Mariehamn and put up for sale.

In February 2006 she was sold to the Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines for US$35 million (€29.4 million).[http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Birka+Line+to+sell+one+of+its+two+cruise+vessels+to+Cyprus/1135218758464 Birka Line to sell one of its two cruise vessels to Cyprus] - Helsingin Sanomat, 14 February 2006. As built, the ship only had an indoor pool in the sauna section on deck 2 in the bow of the ship.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dolphin-hellas.gr/Cruises/Louis-cruises/Ships/cruise-ship-decks-Sea_Diamond.htm|title=The deck plan of the Sea Diamond cruise ship|website=www.dolphin-hellas.gr}} A new outdoor swimming pool was installed and the sundeck area increased at Turku Repair Yard, Naantali.{{Cite web|url=http://www.turkurepairyard.com/en/?pageID=5&langID=1&catID=42|title=Home|website=www.turkurepairyard.com}} She entered service in the Mediterranean Sea as the second former Birka Line ship in the Louis Cruise Lines fleet, after MS Princesa Marissa, the former MS Prinsessan/Finnhansa. After the sale she was registered in Valletta, Malta. She changed flags in late 2006. At the time of her sinking she was owned by Elona Maritime Ltd, a company based in Malta,[http://www.mfsa.com.mt/publications/publicationsViewBatch.asp?id=234&date=11/05/2006 Maltese Company Registry], registration number C 38209 but registered at Piraeus, Greece.

Artwork on the ship included two reliefs by ceramic artist Åsa Hellman.[http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/artikkeli/%C3%85sa+Hellmanin+sein%C3%A4reliefit+upposivat+risteilij%C3%A4aluksen+mukana/1135226522953?ref=rss Åsa Hellmanin seinäreliefit upposivat risteilijäaluksen mukana] - Helsingin Sanomat 12 April 2007 {{in lang|fi}}.

File:Sea Diamond - Against Rocks.jpg

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| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQW30HCSJlc Video of Sea Diamond sinking]

| video2 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZu_1j8JGDs Another video of Sea Diamond sinking]

}}

On 5 April 2007, at around 16:00 EEST (13:00 UTC){{Cite web|url=http://www.huliq.com/17637/cruise-ship-evacuates-1167-passengers-off-the-greek-island-santorini|title=Cruise Ship Evacuates 1167 Passengers off the Greek Island Santorini|first=Armen|last=Hareyan|date=5 April 2007|website=HULIQ}} the ship ran aground on a well-marked volcanic reef east of Nea Kameni,{{Cite web|url=http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/data/D2007/D0410/1el13b.gif|title=TA NEA 10.04.2007}}{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6530475.stm|title=Cruise ship evacuated off Greece|date=5 April 2007|via=news.bbc.co.uk}} within the caldera of the Greek island of Santorini, began taking on water, and listed up to 12 degrees to starboard before her watertight doors were reportedly closed (a report which was later refuted when the wreck was examined).{{Cite web|url=http://news.bostonherald.com/international/europe/view.bg?articleid=193121|title=Mostly Americans aboard evacuated Greek cruise}} The 1,153 passengers, mostly Americans and 60 Canadians, were initially all reported to be safely evacuated in three-and-a-half hours, with four injuries.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070407/NEWS02/704070342/1029/NEWS13|title=Dobbs Ferry tourists return today from ill-fated cruise}} Some passengers, including a group of 77 students from Paisley Magnet School in North Carolina,{{Cite web|url=http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/breaking/article.aspx?storyid=82542|title=77 students, parents and teachers from Paisley Magnet School had to be rescued}} were evacuated from the car ramp through the former car deck onto boats, but some passengers had to climb down rope ladders from the higher decks. The ship was towed off the rocks, and her list stabilized.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/05/greece.cruiseship.ap/index.html|title=Hundreds rescued from cruise ship|website=CNN}} Later, it was reported that two French passengers were missing.{{Cite web|url=http://greece.flash.gr//soon/2007/4/5/32712id/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003073528/http://greece.flash.gr/soon/2007/4/5/32712id/|url-status=dead|title=Cruise Liner Sunk in Santorini|archive-date=3 October 2008}}

Image:Santorini.sea diamond wreck.jpg caldera, the final resting place (marked) of Sea Diamond]]

The large amount of water taken on board led to the ship sinking shortly before 7:00 EEST on 6 April 2007, only a few hundred metres from the shore.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6532235.stm|title=Two missing at Greek cruise site|date=6 April 2007|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}[https://www.ctvnews.ca/divers-search-wreckage-for-missing-passengers-1.236263 Cruise ship sinks after hitting Mediterranean reef] (Images)

Video footage shows that, toward the end, the ship completely capsized before settling stern first onto the sea floor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZu_1j8JGDs&NR=1|title=Sinking of Sea Diamond|website=YouTube}} It was later reported that the tip of the bulbous bow was only 62 metres (203 feet) below sea level, but the stern was in water up to 180 metres (590 feet) deep. It is feared that the wreck would soon slide deeper and sink into the submerged caldera of the volcanic island.{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070413/ap_on_re_eu/greece_cruise_ship|title= Cruise ship 'black box' found|publisher=Yahoo news|date=13 April 2007|accessdate=14 April 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070415121953/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070413/ap_on_re_eu/greece_cruise_ship |archive-date = 15 April 2007}}

It has been speculated that the deep, almost vertical shore of the bathtub-like caldera made it impossible to beach the ship and save her from becoming a total loss.

Two French citizens, Jean Christophe Allain, aged 45, and his daughter Maud, 16, were listed as missing. Allain's wife said her cabin filled with water when the ship struck rocks and that she narrowly escaped. She was not sure whether her husband and daughter made it out, because the events happened so suddenly. Her son was on deck at the time and was evacuated safely.[http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2430120.ece Two passengers missing after luxury cruise liner sinks in the Aegean Sea] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409001254/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2430120.ece |date=9 April 2007 }} The family were accommodated in cabin 2014, an outside standard cabin on the starboard side of the vessel on deck 2, the lowest passenger deck.

Divers examined the wreck on 6 April to gather information on the ship's current position and to seek the missing passengers, but the search of the cabin recovered nothing. Divers continued searching on 10 April, but nothing was reported. Later in the same day, local governors apologized to the French family for their missing relatives.{{Cite web|url=http://www.skai.gr/master_story.php?id=44558|title=Άκαρπες οι έρευνες}}[http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/Greek-rescue-teams-are-searching-for-two-missing-people Greek rescue teams search for two missing people], BLN – International, 6 April 2007. The black box containing the recordings of the conversations before the crash was discovered on 15 April, while the bodies of the two missing persons were never found.

On 7 April, Greek authorities announced that they were charging the captain and five other officers with negligence. State television reported they were charged with causing a shipwreck through negligence, breaching international shipping safety regulations and polluting the environment. Additional charges could be made depending on the fate of the two missing passengers. All six were released until further notice but if convicted they could face a five-year prison sentence.[https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-04-07-cruisesinking_N.htm Greek cruise ship's personnel face negligence charges over sinking], USA Today, 7 April 2007

Image:Sea diamond life rafts2.jpgs automatically released in water, now covered with oil slicks from the Sea Diamond]]

On 13 April 2007, it was reported that investigators using a remotely controlled submarine found the ship's data recorder (VDR). In a struggle to protect the data, they secured it in a special sterilized bin and the authorities were to have transferred it to the United States in order to reveal the saved data, an action that only the manufacturer of the VDR can perform. The Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said the recorder could reveal details of the sinking of the ship which could be used in the prosecution of crew members.

DNV, one of the world's leading classification agencies, stated in their press release that "At the time of the accident, DNV had issued class certificate, safety management certificate and ship security certificate. Sea Diamond had no overdue surveys and no condition of class". For the Sea Diamond to have been issued a Class certificate, her water-tight doors would have to have been fully operational.{{cite web |url=http://www.dnv.com/press/SeaDiamondcleanfromclassrelatedissues.asp |title=Sea Diamond – clean from class related issues |publisher=DNV |author=Richardsen, Per Wiggo |date=9 April 2007 |accessdate=5 May 2007}}

Investigations carried out by the defense team of the Master of the Vessel and Louis Cruise Lines, after a lawsuit had been filed against them, have included a new hydrographic survey of the area of the accident in Santorini. This survey was carried out by Akti Engineering, and discovered discrepancies between the actual mapping of the sea area and the official charts used by the Sea Diamond (and all other vessels) at the time of the accident. The detailed survey claimed that the reef, which the Sea Diamond struck is, in fact, lying at {{convert|131|m}} from shore and not at a distance of {{convert|57|m}}, as is incorrectly marked on the nautical chart. The official chart also shows the depth of the water at the area of impact varying from {{convert|18|–|22|m}}, whilst the recent survey shows that it is only {{convert|5|m}}.[http://www.louisgroup.com/index.html?id=472&lg=en Louis press release: M/V Sea Diamond Struck the Reef and Sunk Due to Incorrect Mapping of the Area], Retrieved 2 November 2007

The findings obtained by Akti Engineering have since been passed on to the Hellenic Hydrographic Office of the Hellenic Navy and other responsible authorities, with the aim that the necessary changes to maritime charts should be made and similar accidents to be prevented. According to a branch reviewing source, the Hellenic Hydrographic Office initially rejected the new mapping,{{cite web|title=New Twist in Sea Diamond Sinking? |url=http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2249 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513175720/http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2249 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=live }} but a later study confirmed the findings of Akti.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2943|title=Map Found to Be Erroneous in Sea Diamond Case|website=www.cruisecritic.com}}

A Greek scuba diver gathering evidence for a judicial investigation of the Sea Diamond shipwreck died in October 2007 from decompression sickness after ascending too quickly.{{cite news |url=http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s071007.html |publisher=CDNN |title=Scuba Diver Dies Investigating Sea Diamond Cruise Ship Wreck |date=7 October 2007 |author=Luther Monroe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512070645/http://www.cdnn.info/news/safety/s071007.html |archive-date=12 May 2008}}

Image:Sea Diamond 2015.jpg

In order to avoid an oil spill, plans were made to recover some {{convert|450|t|ST}} of fuel from the ship's tanks. As of 20 September 2007, fuel had started to leak into other parts of the ship, but not yet into the surrounding environment.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cruisebruise.com/Sea_Diamond_Sinks_April_5_2007_2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419122254/http://www.cruisebruise.com/Sea_Diamond_Sinks_April_5_2007_2.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=19 April 2007|title=Sea Diamond Sinks Off The Coast Of Greece - April 5, 2007}} In June 2009, some of the fuel was pumped off the wreck.Sea Diamond: Ολοκληρώθηκε η απάντληση καυσίμων H Ναυτεμπορική daily, 16 June 2009 [http://www.naftemporiki.gr/localnews/story.asp?id=1678059]

On 14 May 2007, it was announced that Louis Cruise Lines had bought M/S Silja Opera (renaming it M/S Cristal) to replace the Sea Diamond.

On 19 June 2007, the owners, operator and captain of the Sea Diamond cruise ship were fined €1.17 million for causing marine pollution.{{cite news |title=Hefty fine for Sea Diamond |date=19 June 2007 |url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100014_19/06/2007_84684 |work=Kathimerini |accessdate=19 June 2007 }}

On 21 August 2007, a lawsuit was filed in United States federal court on behalf of the passengers who were aboard the ship when she sank.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070419122254/http://www.cruisebruise.com/Sea_Diamond_Sinks_April_5_2007_2.html Cruise Bruise: Cruise Ship Sinking Results In Two Deaths]}}, Retrieved 6 November 2007

After six years in the courts, the Sea Diamond captain and an insurance company employee were given 12- and 8-year jail sentences, respectively.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2013/08/articles/sinking/6-years-later-verdict-in-deadly-sinking-of-sea-diamond-cruise-ship/|title=6 Years Later: Verdict in Deadly Sinking of Sea Diamond Cruise Ship|date=1 August 2013|website=Cruise Law News}}

Image:Santorini, Greece - panoramio (9).jpg. On the right can be seen the fuel containment boom of the Sea Diamond.]]

After the sinking there was much demand from the residents of Santorini for the wreck be raised and removed. Further questions were posed but never answered as to why the ship was moved to deeper water to be allowed to sink in the first place. In May 2011, the Greek government claimed that removing the Sea Diamond would be "too costly" and said that the 150-million-euro cost of raising the ship should be the responsibility of the insurers and company that owned the ship. The latter two have no plans to raise the ship, however.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/133678/article/ekathimerini/news/santorini-cruise-ship-wreck-too-costly-to-remove|title=Santorini cruise ship wreck 'too costly' to remove | Kathimerini|website=www.ekathimerini.com}}

In October 2017 the Merchant Marine Ministry of Greece announced the wreck will be raised, out of environmental and navigational concerns.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/17990-greek-officials-to-raise-sea-diamond-wreck.html|title=Greek Officials to Raise Sea Diamond Wreck|first=C. I. N.|last=Staff|date=21 October 2017|website=www.cruiseindustrynews.com}} It is an artificial reef for now.

Images from Birka Princess taken one week after her maiden voyage in April 1986

Image:Birka Princess 1986b.jpg|Birka Princess in the Sea of Åland

Image:Birka Princess 1986a.jpg|Birka Princess main staircase

{{Portal|Greece|Transport}}

• Lists of ship and ferry disasters
• Lists of shipwrecks
• Costa Concordia, an Italian cruise ship which grounded and capsized in January 2012, killing at least 32 people
• SS Heraklion, a Greek car ferry which capsized and sank in the Aegean Sea in 1966.
• MS Mikhail Lermontov, a Soviet cruise ship which ran aground on well-charted rocks and subsequently sank in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, in 1986 under similar circumstances to the Sea Diamond.
• MS Express Samina, a Greek car ferry which hit a pair of rocky islets and sank near the Cyclades island of Paros in 2000.

{{Clear}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{Wikinews|Cruise ship sinks off Greek coast, two missing | Captain of sunken cruise ship charged}}

{{commons category|IMO 8406731}}

• [http://www.dolphin-hellas.gr/Cruises/Louis-cruises/Ships/cruise-vessel-Sea_Diamond.htm The cruise vessel Sea Diamond]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081003073528/http://greece.flash.gr/soon/2007/4/5/32712id/ Cruise Liner Sunk in Santorini] {{in lang|el}}
• [http://www.friendlyplanet.com/cruise-ships/louis-sea-diamond.html Ship Profile]
• [http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2249 New Twist in Sea Diamond Sinking?]
• [https://www.e-marinews.com/shipwrecks/to-nayagio-toy-ms-sea-diamond/ Το ναυάγιο του MS Sea Diamond] - E-MARINEWS {{in lang|el}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/profile?user=zakhayes1 Videos by member of student group]
• View from island: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5sjnXkeTJI April 5 2007 evacuation], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gCs3H8tN4s April 6 2007 sinking]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101210193412/http://picasaweb.google.com/sliderocity/cruiseshippictures Pictures taken by a passenger during evacuation]
• [http://www.efoplistis.gr/gallery/component/rsgallery2/?gid=74 Amateur photos before the incident]
• [http://galutschek.at/ships/birka_princess/ Two short video clips of Birka Princess]

{{2007 shipwrecks}}

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Category:2007 in Greece

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