A cruise ship with 984 people on board ran aground off the coast of Latvia yesterday, but all the passengers and crew were safe, the coast guard said.

They said the Bahamas-registered Mona Lisa, whose passengers were mostly German, ran aground in the Irbe Strait, a main route from the Baltic Sea to the port of the Latvian capital Riga.

Five vessels from the coast guard and border guards were attending to the vessel, which first came to service in 1966 and has eight decks.

"They are checking the vessel and preparing to tow it, but we do not know when the towing can take place," said a spokesman for the Latvian coast guard.

The vessel was on charter to a German ferry tour operator, Lord Nelsen Seereisen, from April 28 this year to August 31, according to Dutch cruise information website www.nedcruise.info. Baltic news agency BNS quoted coastguard chief Hermanis Chernov as saying there were no plans to evacuate the ship.

At the scene of the accident, which took place about 18 kilometres from the coast and some 37 kilometres from the port city of Ventspils, many of the passengers stood in the sunshine on the top deck as divers inspected the keel for any damages.

Riga port is visited by many cruise ships during the spring and summer months, as well as having a regular ferry service between Latvia and Sweden.