Error on map ‘sank liner’
The shipping firm that owns the Sea Diamond cruise liner, which struck a reef and sank off Santorini in April last year, yesterday declared itself cleared of responsibility for the incident after the Hellenic Navy published a map indicating that an original plan of the area had been inaccurate. The new map reportedly shows the reef to be 113 meters away from the island’s coast and not 58 meters as shown on the previous map. The map also determines that the depth of the water at the spot of the collision is 5 meters and not 18 to 22 meters as the original map had indicated. «These official findings vindicate the stance the cruise liner owner has insisted upon for the past year, namely that, based on the official map in use at the time, the course that the Sea Diamond followed when approaching Santorini had been absolutely safe,» Louis Cruise Lines said in a statement. The Merchant Marine Ministry refused to comment on the development yesterday.
