Buenos Aires  - A Chilean Navy ship Friday rescued 89 passengers from a ship that ran aground in icy Antarctic waters, took on water through the damage and suffered a fuel leak.

The tourists boarded the rescue ship Aquiles early Friday some 1,300 kilometres south of the Argentine port of Ushuaia, a day after their boat called for help after becoming stuck, Claudia Albornoz, a spokeswoman for the operator Antarpply Expeditions in Ushuaia, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The passengers were to be taken to the Chilean Antarctic station Frei, where they were expected to arrive late Friday. On Saturday, they were set to fly on to Ushuaia.

The crew of 33 on the 85-metre-long cruise ship Ciudad de Ushuaia remained on board. According to Argentine authorities, there was rough weather in the area, although the ship was in a relatively sheltered location in Guillermina Bay.

The Ciudad de Ushuaia, built for research in 1970 in the United States, ran aground on a rock and the ship let in water, while fuel from two tanks leaked to the sea.

However, the hole was relatively small, so it only posed a minor risk for the people on board, Argentine Navy Admiral Daniel Alberto Martin told television channel C5N. There was no immediate risk of the boat sinking.

Earlier Friday, the Atlantic Dream, another cruise ship that was in the area at the time of the accident, approached the troubled boat to offer assistance.

The Ushuaia - which sails under a Panamanian flag - is equipped to sail through ice. It had set off from the city of the same name on November 28 for an 11-day cruise. According to the operator, the cheapest cabin cost some 4,000 dollars.

Among the ship's passengers, there were 12 US citizens, nine Germans, six Spaniards, and also tourists from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland, China and other countries. Most of the crew are Argentines. (dpa)