Wellington  - The grounding of the cruise ship Ocean Nova in the Antarctic highlighted the need for stricter controls on tourism in the area, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Thursday.

"If nothing is done, it will be only a matter of time before there is a disaster in the Southern Ocean," he said. "The international community must take steps to ensure that never happens."

McCully said New Zealand would host a conference this year on Antarctic ship-borne tourism with a focus on how to prevent a major maritime accident and how to control "a rapidly expanding, but currently inadequately regulated, industry."

The Ocean Nova, sailing under a Bahamas flag, ran aground Tuesday 5 kilometres from an Argentine military base. All 65 passengers aboard the cruise ship were rescued by the Argentine Navy Wednesday, according to the US travel company Quark Expeditions.

McCully said tourist ships posed a significant risk not only to human life but also to the pristine, fragile environment.

"The number of people cruising in Antarctic waters has quadrupled to 46,000 in the last 15 years, which has resulted in visits from bigger tourist ships that just aren't suited to the conditions," McCully said.

"It is also critical that the industry recognizes that the Southern Ocean is a remote, inhospitable and dangerous place for tourist vessels that is difficult for search and rescue services to reach in the case of an emergency," he added. (dpa)