A Greece newspaper reports that the Ocean Countess cruise ship is on fire.

My favorite website, Maritime Matters, reports this evening:

“Majestic International’s MV OCEAN COUNTESS, completed in 1976 as CUNARD COUNTESS, is currently ablaze at Chalkis, where she has been laid up since her most recent charter to U.K.-based Cruise and Maritime Voyages.

Sad news.  Cruise passenger Janet Richardson, who was dropped from off of a stretcher while rescue staff tried to transfer her from the Ocean Countess cruise ship to a rescue vessel, died in the hospital in the U.K.

Ms. Richardson suffered from some medical problems and apparently was experiencing internal bleeding when a decision was made to take her to

Today, a number of newspapers in the U.K. published articles about an incident we reported on April 6th – Cruise Passenger Dropped into Freezing Waters During Botched Rescue – involving a seriously ill British passenger from the Ocean Countess cruise ship who was inadvertently dumped into freezing waters off of the coast of Norway by the crew of a rescue

A newspaper in the U.K. reports that a seriously ill British passenger was inadvertently dumped into freezing waters off of the coast of Norway during what is described as a "bungled cruise ship rescue."  

The Champion newspaper reports that a couple on the cruise ship, Colin and Sheila Prescott, watched in horror as Norwegian emergency crews were attempting to transfer the sick passenger