Bermudian mariners who assisted in freeing the cruise ship after she ran aground on a reef between Spanish Point and Dockyard have been praised by Transport and Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown.

But he would not speculate on the cause of last week?s accident or the extend of damage to the reef and surrounding area as investigations into both matters were ongoing.

The 34,000 ton ship hit a reef on the approach to Dundonald Channel on June 7 as she was moving between St. George?s and Hamilton. A total of 1,700 passengers and crew were on the ship at the time and were stranded for much of the day until a combination of high tide and manoeuvring by the tugboats , and freed the ship almost 12 hours later.

A local pilot was helping to guide the cruise ship at the time it struck the reef.

Speaking in the House of Assembly, the Deputy Premier said: ?A full investigation is now underway. Incidents of this kind are rare in Bermuda and in my view this specific occurrence should not in any way erode confidence in our pilot service.

?The vast majority of ship movements in and around our harbours are carried out without incident and I expect that this will continue.

?The Ministry of Tourism and Transport has been in constant contact with Norwegian Cruise Line and we continue to work with this tremendously valued partner in the aftermath of this incident.? He added: ?The indentations discovered on the bow of the vessel have not impeded its service to passengers and Bermuda; repairs will be effected to the area as soon as it is convenient to do so.

?We are of course very concerned about the consequences to the reef and the general maritime environment in the area and the Ministry of Tourism and Transport continues to assist the Department of Environmental Protection as it assesses the extent of the damage occasional to the area by this incident.?

Dr. Brown said that had the cruise ship not been freed as quickly as she was by the tugs and high tide, the Island could have faced a serious situation that would have been ?environmentally and economically damaging.?

He thanked by name pilot warden Edward Welch, senior nautical surveyor John McPartland, harbourmaster Mike Dolding and Director of Marine and Ports Francis Richardson and also the crews of the tugboats who assisted in the rescue.