Hopes kindled that Sea Diamond could be raised
Some nine years after the Sea Diamond cruise liner sank off Santorini, an agreement was reached on Thursday to create a body that will organize the recovery of the ship’s hulk, which is still lodged on the seabed off the Cycladic island.
The Shipping and Island Policy Ministry, Thira Municipality and the island’s Municipal Port Fund are among the bodies that will cooperate in the project.
The move was welcomed by citizens’ groups on the island, which have been campaigning for several years to have the wreckage removed.
The cruise ship, owned by Louis Hellenic Cruises, sank on April 6, 2007 after ramming into a reef just off Santorini.
There were 1,195 passengers and 391 crew on board.
A Frenchman, Jean Christophe Allain and his daughter Maud died in the accident.
