proved impossible due to inclement weather. It then returned to Greece for a few days until the weather calmed down. On 31 December 1993, American Star left Greece for the last time, under tow by Ukrainian tugboat Neftegaz-67. The hundred-day tow began. Shortly afterward, American Star and Neftegaz-67 sailed into a thunderstorm in the Atlantic. The tow-lines broke and six or more crew members were sent aboard the American Star to reattach the emergency tow-lines, which proved unsuccessful. Two other towboats were called to assist Neftegaz 67. On 17 January 1994, the crew aboard American Star was rescued by helicopter. The ship was left adrift. At 6:15 a.m. on 18 January, the ship went aground at Playa de Garcey, off the west coast of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. While discussions among the ship's owners, the towing firm, and the companies insuring the ship were going on, the ship was left to nature, with the forward part going aground on a sandbar. Within the first 48 hours of grounding, the pounding surf of the Atlantic broke the ship in two just past the second funnel. The ship was declared a total loss on 6 July 1994. The stern section collapsed completely to port and sank in 1996, while the bow section remained intact. As months passed after running ashore, the wreck attracted onlookers and even looters. Locals even created a zipline to the wreck to carry off anything valuable from it. Due to the rough waves and strong current, trying to reach the wreck was very unsafe. Over the years several people trying to swim out to the wreck had died while others had to be airlifted off once they got on board. Those that have gotten onboard showed views of the interiors and exteriors of the wreck such as sparse cabins and water crashing through the blown-out portholes. The only other documentation came from a German documentary in 1999 that showed the interiors and exteriors of the wreck, including rare views filmed just after the stern section had split apart. As part of an art project, the film crew brought generators and floodlights aboard to illuminate the bow section. By 2004 the bow section continued to remain upright with the water eroding away cargo hold no. 1, making the bow section extremely top heavy. In November, 2005, the port side of the bow section collapsed, which caused the liner's