Coast Guard checks Cruise West ships after most recent grounding in Alaska

The Spirit of Glacier Bay cruise ship, which ran aground earlier this week in Alaska, is in Juneau for repairs, and the U.S. Coast Guard is checking ships of its owner Cruise West for safety and maintenance.

The 207-foot Spirit of Glacier Bay, run by Seattle-based Cruise West, this summer has been sailing three- and four-night cruises in Southeast Alaska, including in Glacier Bay National Park where it went aground on Monday.

The ship had 51 passengers and crew aboard. There were no injuries and a Coast Guard boat freed the ship; it then headed to Auke Bay near Juneau.

Because of previous mechanical problems and groundings the Coast Guard is inspecting Cruise West's other ships, Capt. Scott Robert, the Coast Guard sector Juneau commander, told the Anchorage Daily News. Safety plans, equipment and maintenance policies are being examined, Robert told the newspaper. The Coast Guard also will talk to crew members about safety awareness and conditions.

The Coast Guard said there was no breach of the external hull of the Spirit of Glacier Bay. However, the ship does have some structural damage which must be repaired before it can again carry passengers. The cause of the grounding remains under investigation.

The same ship, formerly called the Spirit of Nantucket, began taking on water in November 2007 on an Intracoastal Waterway cruise near Virginia Beach, Va, after it hit a submerged object. The captain ran it aground to prevent it from sinking.

This June, another Cruise West ship, the Spirit of Alaska, touched bottom on a Southeast Alaska cruise, damaging its rudder and cutting short a cruise. And in May, the company's Spirit of Columbia had power and propeller problems and was diverted to Juneau. There were no injuries in either incident.

Kristin Jackson of Seattle Times Travel contributed to this report.