A cruise ship with about 280 people on board ran into trouble off the Alaskan coast and began taking on water, forcing passengers and crew to evacuate, the US Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard craft were sent to the 110-metre-long Empress of the North, about 24 km southwest of Juneau on Alaska's eastern peninsula in an area called Icy Straits, Coast Guard spokesman Christopher McLaughlin said.
The ship was listing at about 8 degrees after hitting a rock but 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.
Coast Guard Commander Jeff Carter told CNN the ship was carrying 281 passengers and crew.
McLaughlin said about 30 passengers had been evacuated so far, with nearby commercial vessels helping the Coast Guard, including a cruise ship that was due at the scene shortly to help evacuate remaining passengers.
"Several Good Samaritan boats are on the scene and taking passengers off," McLaughlin said. He said it was unclear how much water the boat was taking on.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or what caused the ship to run into trouble in 0.9-metre seas in icy waters.
"We're not sure what they hit," McLaughlin said.
The ship has 112 staterooms and an old-fashioned rear paddle wheel, according to the website of its owner, the Majestic America cruise line.
Majestic America is a division of Ambassadors Cruise Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambassadors International.
Its decor includes Native American totems and masks, as well as Faberge eggs and other Russian artwork.
© 2007 Reuters, Click for Restrictions
The Alaskan cruise ship "Empress of the North" was given the order to evacuate at 2 AM Alaska Time this morning after striking an underwater rock and taking on water. All 281 passengers and 29 crew are unharmed and the passengers have been evacuated, though the ship is listing roughly 8 degrees. The US Coast Guard has stated the ship is in no danger of sinking, but tell news reporters that the captain of the ship gave the order to evacuate to be safe. The ship's current location is 24 km (15 miles) southeast of Juneau, Alaska in an area of the Eastern peninsula known as the Icy Strait. Though it is unknown exactly what penetrated the ship's hull at this time, it is suspected by the captain and US Coast Guard that it was an underwater rock. This all occurred during the night hours on the second day of a seven day long cruise through the Alexander Archipelago and Inside Passage in southeastern Alaska.

Dan Miller, representative for "Majestic America" has said the ship "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."

Several civilian pleasure-craft arrived at the scene and have taken some passengers off of the ship. The ships involved in this rescue operation were a commercial tugboat, a barge, 6 pleasurecraft, an Alaska Marine Highway ferry, and another cruise ship.

As of 1:00 PM Eastern Time, all of the passengers have been transferred to an Alaskan Ferry, heading back to Juneau. The 29 crew members have stated they will remain on board to help bring the ship back to port in Juneau for investigation and repairs.

The 109-meter long Empress of the North is owned by "Majestic America", a division of Ambassadors Cruise Group, which is in turn, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ambassadors International.