Buenos Aires  - A ship carrying 74 passengers and a crew of 30 ran aground near an Argentine base in Antarctica Tuesday, although it was expected to move out on its own once the tide came in later in the day.

The captain of the Ocean Nova, sailing under a Bahamas flag, said everyone on board was safe and that the ship had suffered no damage, Argentine Navy spokesman Roberto Ulloa told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The Ocean Nova ran aground early Tuesday just three miles off the Argentine military base San Martin. The Argentine Navy made contact with the ship and with the Spanish vessel Hesperides, which was about 120 kilometres away from the site and was to assist the Ocean Nova. A Navy plane was also deployed to survey the area. (dpa)