A Maltese-registered cargo ship carrying 16,000 tons of cement was in danger of breaking up on the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City after all 40 crew and passengers aboard were evacuated early last Thursday, Canadian Coast Guard officials said. The 552-ft. (178-m) ship suffered a rudder breakdown and ran aground last Tuesday on a sand bank near the eastern tip of l'Ile d'Orleans near Quebec City, the provincial capital. "The problem is fairly serious because there is a crack running from the deck to the water level," coast guard spokesman Francois Miville-Deschenes said. "There is a risk that some of the cargo will fall into the river," he said.