Ocean liner sinks near Japan

2006-09-02 09:33

Tokyo - A historic ocean liner once known for its millionaire passengers and widely admired for its beauty sank off Japan's southeastern coast, the coast guard said on Saturday.

There was no one on board the former Stella Polaris, which was being towed to China from central Japan for repairs before being turned into a hotel in Sweden, Japan's coast guard said in a statement.

The tugboat's crew told authorities late on Friday that the ship, renamed the Scandinavia, had begun to take in water about three kilometres off Wakayama prefecture (state), some 450 kilometres southwest of Tokyo, the statement said.

Television footage of the area on Saturday morning aired by public broadcaster NHK showed no signs of the 5 100-ton vessel.

The ship appeared to have sunk to the seabed some 70 metres below the water's surface, releasing about 300 litres of diesel oil, according to the coast guard.

The all-white, 127-metre-long Stella Polaris, built in 1927 by Sweden's Gotaverken for Bergen Line of Norway, was known for its graceful, yacht-like appearance as well as for its luxurious interior.

Used for trans-Atlantic and other luxury cruises, the Stella Polaris was seized by Nazi Germany during World War II but later returned to Bergen Line.

The liner was in service until its sale in 1970 to a subsidiary of Japan's Seibu Railway Co, which moored it at a central Japanese port to use as a hotel and restaurant.

The Swedish company Petro-Fast AB had planned to operate the ship as a hotel-restaurant in Stockholm, according to Kyodo News agency.

- AP