Greek naval helicopters and warships rushed to help evacuate hundreds of Americans and German tourists from a listing cruise ship this afternoon after it issued a distress signal off the Aegean island of Santorini.

More than a dozen local ships were involved in the successful operation to remove the 1,200 passengers and 391 crew from Sea Diamond, which ran aground near the island's main port of Athinios. Four navy rescue helicopters, a military transport plane and four warships were sent to the area.

The 143-metre (472-foot) boat was reportedly taking on water. A statement from the operators, Louis Hellenic Cruise Lines, confirmed that the evacuation had been completed. “All passengers have been safely disembarked. There are no casualties. All the crew is safe,” it said.

The company praised the Greek authorities for their “prompt and professional” reaction to the evacuation and said that their own technical team was on its way to the site to assess the damage.

Chrysanthos Roussis, Santorini’s regional governor described the evacuation process: “We managed to get the ship away from the rocks and tugged the vessel toward the main harbour,” he said.

Thousands of tourists and residents watched the rescue effort from the cliffs and port, and more followed events unfolding on a webcam on Santorini’s tourist website. Witnesses said that at one point hundreds of people could be seen on the deck of the ship waiting to be rescued.

The vessel was in the final stage of a four-day tour of the Greek islands when it ran into difficulties off Santorini, the spokeswoman said. It was due to dock in Piraeus, Greece's main port, tomorrow.

“The boat was attempting to moor but ran aground in shallow waters,” a local boatman told private Antenna television.

The ship was built in Finland and launched in 1986 under the name Birka Princess. It was renovated nearly a decade ago and sold to its current owners, who renamed it Sea Diamond, in April last year

Santorini is in the Aegean sea about 200 km south-east of mainland Greece . The volcanic island boasts a dramatic landscape and is a popular tourist destination.

Louis Cruise lines is part of the Louis Group, which is based in Cyprus . The travel and tourism company is the country’s largest privately owned organisation, with 8,000 employees.

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