Placelowerplace Report This Comment Date: April 05, 2007 03:14AM
In 1994, the ship was sold yet again, with the intention of being refitted to
become either a hotel or prison ship off of Phuket, in Thailand. Drydocking at
that time revealed that despite the years of neglect, her hull was still in
remarkably good condition. She was renamed American Star, and with her
propellers removed, she left Greece under tow by the Ukrainian tug Neftegaz
67.
On January 15, 1994, while caught in an Atlantic storm, the tow lines broke, and
attempts to reestablish the tow at sea were unsuccessful. On January 17, the
crew aboard the American Star was rescued by helicopter. The ship ultimately ran
aground off of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.
While discussions between the ship's owners, the towing firm, and the companies
insuring the ship were going on, the ship was left to nature. With the forward
part of the ship resting on a sandbar, the ship broke in two just past the
second funnel. Due to this, the ship was declared a total loss on July 6, 1994.
The stern section soon collapsed completely and sank, while the bow continued to
remain upright.
In November 2005, the port side of the bow section collapsed, causing the
liner's remains to assume a much sharper list. This also caused the funnel to
detach and fall into the ocean. It appears that the ship's end is near, as the
collapse of the port side has caused the ship to begin to break up. As of
October 2006, the wreck has nearly collapsed completely onto its port side.
Realkevin2nd Report This Comment Date: April 05, 2007 03:16AM
Dude! quit copying from wikipedia>
Realkevin2nd Report This Comment Date: April 05, 2007 03:17AM
That was right when the stern was breaking off right?