THE beleaguered Greek maritime industry suffered its third accident in a week yesterday the day before the captain of the Express Samina gives evidence into the cause of last week's tragedy in which at least 79 people died.

Last night, Mr Richard Idhe, an 82-year-old American, was said to have died of a heart attack after the wooden yacht Zeus III, which was heading for the island of Santorini, hit a rock and sank off the island of Naxos in the Aegean.

Flares fired from a military helicopter lit up the sky while coastguard and fishing vessels, helped by divers, plucked survivors from the sea. There were 27 Americans on board, including Mr Idhe, of Strongsville, Ohio, one German tourist, three Greeks, and the crew of seven. Authorities said the other passengers were in good health and the boat's Greek crew was being held for questioning.

The Naxos sinking came four days after the Express Samina ferry carrying more than 530 people sank off the neighbouring island of Paros. A total of 452 people were rescued, many by Royal Navy vessels exercising nearby.

The latest incident came hours before a ban came into effect confining 65 Greek ferries and cruise ships to port for failing to meet safety standards.

The 34-year-old Express Samina impaled itself on a well-marked rocky islet a mile and a half from the harbour. It was Greece's worst maritime disaster in 35 years, with survivors claiming the ship had been put on auto pilot as the ship's officers and crew watched a football match on television.

Investigators are also looking at the possibility the accident was caused deliberately, with the ageing ship, due to be scrapped next year, described as a dangerous rust bucket.

Divers searching the wreck recovered three more bodies and two further passengers are still listed missing. However, with poor ticket sales records, the authorities fear more people may have been trapped on the vessel.

The ferry's captain, Vassilis Yannakis, first officer Tassos Psychoyos, trainee captain Yannis Patilas, and seaman Panayotis Kasdaglis have all been charged with murder.

In a statement released through a lawyer, Captain Yannakis said: ''I feel deep grief for the loss of life.''

Captain Yannakis has said he takes overall responsibility as skipper. His number two has blamed bad weather. ''The weather threw me on to the rocks,'' Mr Psychoyos said.

In another incident, early on Friday, the ferry Express Artemis ran aground near the port of Naxos with 1081 passengers on board. No-one was hurt but the incidents have focused attention on the safety of Greece's 500-strong ferry fleet.

Two other ferries suffered engine failure this week, leaving tourists stranded for hours. The spate of accidents and the ferry disaster could spell trouble for Greece's vital shipping and tourism industries. More than 10 million people travel on Greek passenger ferries each year.

The European Union has asked the Greek government to provide a detailed report on the ferry sinking within a month.

Authorities, scrambling to stem the maritime crisis, have suspended operation licenses for 65 mostly old ferries and cruise ships which failed safety tests. The ban includes many vessels that serve popular holiday islands, including 14 owned by Minoan Flying Dolphins which operated the Express Samina. All the licenses will be reviewed in 20 days.

Mr Christos Papoutsis, the merchant marine minister, has promised to overhaul the entire ferry industry, including extensive port improvements, tougher coastguard training and deregulation of ferry services to include foreign competition in 2002 - two years earlier than planned.

In an apparently related incident, arsonists tried to burn down the central Athens offices of Minoan Flying Dolphins. Police said someone threw a flaming rag doused in petrol at a rear window but the fire failed to take. No-one was hurt and there was no claim of responsibility.

Meanwhile, a passenger who was injured when a 50ft wave hit a luxury cruise liner told yesterday of his terror as water flooded his cabin.

Pensioner Malcolm MacIver was in his cabin on the British registered Oriana when the wave smashed through the window, leaving him and his wife battling to escape. Mr MacIver, from Colwyn Bay, North Wales, said: ''It was terrifying. P&O are playing it down but it was very frightening.''

As the #200m liner arrived in its home port of Southampton yesterday, Mr MacIver said he had to have stitches to two cuts in his head after being hit by toughened glass from the window.

He said: ''It came through at ceiling level and brought down metal strips from off the ceiling.

''It was a huge swell and it kept coming in. My wife was knocked to the floor. I got up and tried to get her out of the cabin but we were stopped by the metal coming down from the ceiling. It was terrifying.''

He said their belongings had been soaked and some possessions had been lost.

Oriana, carrying 1525 passengers and 800 crew, was sailing back from New York when she became caught in storm force winds as she answered a Mayday call from a yacht on Thursday afternoon. The wave struck her port side when she was about 600 miles west of Cork, in the Irish Republic. The yacht later received help from the RAF.

The 69,000-tonne ship was on her first North Atlantic trip, although she has sailed to the Caribbean many times.

Three passengers and an officer were injured by flying glass and four others were treated for shock.

Running repairs have been carried out after the wave smashed windows in six cabins, flooded more than 20 cabins and the main staircase, and left some rooms up to 3ft deep in water.

Oriana reached Southampton yesterday, 18 hours later than planned, and was due to leave again last night on a cruise to the Canaries which has been delayed by 24 hours.

Passengers, who had paid more than #1375 for the cruise, were full of praise for the ship's crew and captain.