Video: One Guy Saved 600 Passengers When the Captain Abandoned Them Only entertainment staff, singers and waiters helped us later. Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features. The technology means that the rebreather diver uses significantly less gas, has reduced nitrogen uptake, and subsequently fewer decompression requirements. In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab sets off to hunt the whale, leaving the capable Starbuck in charge. Several witnesses claimed to have seen him in the water. dontpanik, July 2, 2007 in What Ever Happened To..??? Here's a link if you want to see a video of the story. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived, but Captain Yiannis Avranas and other officers left the ship while some passengers were still on board. Smith was accused of ignoring ice warnings from other ships and failing to reduce the ships speed to fit the conditions at hand. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. What happened to the captain and crew of the Oceanos? The Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. Moving round to the port side propeller, over the hull, and back to the deck amidships, they headed off on their scooters to the bridge and bow sections to make a survey of possible penetration points for the second dive. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. In the time of need, however, the crew found that everything was useless. Abandonment is for everybody, if some people want to stay, they can stay. [2] Photographs taken in 2002 show that the bridge section has collapsed. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. While the ship could have stayed afloat with up to four flooded compartments, depending on their location, five tipped into catastrophic territory. TRY ASKING HOST DOUGhe usually knows those things. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Such callous words were spoken by Yiannis Avranas, captain of the Greek luxury liner Oceanos, which sank off the coast of South Africa in 1991. They understood their roles and contributed to the success of this dive. Authorities isolated officers and sailors at a hotel. This statement has placed the 51-year-old . [4] The storm worsened, and at approximately 21:30 UTC+2, while off the Wild Coast of the Transkei, a muffled explosion was heard. [7][failed verification] The South African Navy, along with the South African Air Force, launched a mission to airlift the passengers and crew to the nearby settlements of The Haven and Hole in the Wall, about .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}10km (5+12nmi) south of Coffee Bay. By By Philip G Van Rensburg. Must a captain be the last one off a sinking ship? - BBC News Without a driving force, however, he had to find another solution., The captain broadcast SOS. [14] He was never incarcerated and Epirotiki gave him command of a ferry until his retirement. Video footage shows their progress as pale rays of sunlight filtered through the corridor windows, throwing subtle illuminations across the dark interior. A coast guard member angrily told him on the phone to Get back on board, damn it!a recorded sound bite that turned into a T-shirt slogan in Italy. Steve said, We had to hold onto the anchor line with all our strength. ), READ MORE: Titanic By the Numbers: From Construction to Disaster to Discovery. The remaining members of the team waited on the boat; some recalled the video footage they had seen of the previous dive made on Monday afternoon and tried to imagine themselves being down there on the wreck with them. The ship they spotted in the distance didnt answer, but several others did. Bill Wright, senior vice president of Marine Operations for the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. Avranas at the time defended his actions, saying he left the ship to direct rescue operations. He immediately ordered an evacuation of all passengers and crew. [7][failed verification] The NPR radio show and podcast Snap Judgment featured an account of the sinking by Moss Hills. How does the braking system work in a car? Three years later she wrote in her book entitled, The Tragedy of the Oceanos: Christos Nikolaou, an Oceanist, had a relative who was an executive at the Panhellenic Federation. What happened to the captain of the Oceanos? - AnswersAll The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. He had set sail for a sandy area at four miles, which he had found on the map. The Greatest Maritime Rescue Ever? The MV Oceanos Rescue - Bowmans But witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the Titanic just moments . [20][21], Dateline NBC aired a documentary of the incident on 23 May 2010. But in interviews, Captain Avranas was unapologetic for leaving the ship ahead of others, saying he was better able to direct rescue efforts from shore. Maritime experts say such manifestations of courage at sea far outnumber incidents in which captains saved themselves and left their passengers behind. [16] A South African Navy Diver testified that the captain had insisted on being taken ashore by the first helicopter. Is the Oceanos still at the bottom of the ocean? Oceanos was briefly featured in the 1985 film Sky High and with another Epirotiki ship, Apollon XI, in the 1986 film Hardbodies 2. [citation needed] An inflatable had to be launched to rescue some passengers who panicked and jumped into the water. Although Barry, Paul, and Brett would dive to the Oceanos as a team, they were all on different equipment. Should oxygen levels drop below those required by the diver, O2 can be computationally or manually injected into the system from an onboard cylinder to replenish the supply. Everyone who had been put into lifeboats was rescued by passing ships and remarkably no lives were lost. Without valves to close on the holding tank, the water coursed through the main drainage pipes and rose like a tide within the ship, spilling out of every shower, toilet, and waste disposal unit connected to the system. But whatever the reason for getting too close, the Italian courts found the captain, four crew members and one official from the ships company, Costa Crociere (part of Carnival Corporation), to be at fault for causing the disaster and preventing a safe evacuation. The incident came two years after Francesco Schettino, the captain of the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia, was charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship charges he denies. Costa Concordia disaster, the capsizing of an Italian cruise ship on January 13, 2012, after it struck rocks off the coast of Giglio Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. [3] Entertainment manager Robin Boltman was credited with gathering the passengers in the lounge and playing music to calm them. [6] Finding the ship's bridge abandoned, Moss Hills, an on-board entertainer, used the radio phone to broadcast a mayday until another ship answered. All 571 people on board were saved, following one of the worlds most dramatic and successful rescue operations of its kind. In the British and American inquiries that followed, a more complicated picture emerged. ", Report: Captain claims he "tripped" into lifeboat. Moss and Tracy, who now live in Liverpool, continued working as cruise ship entertainers for many years. It has been reported that the ship was in a state of neglected maintenance with loose hull plates and an unfitted ventilation pipe. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), 5 Maritime Disasters You Might Not Know About, Titanic By the Numbers: From Construction to Disaster to Discovery, Why Nobody Remembers America's Worst Maritime Disaster, https://www.history.com/news/costa-concordia-cruise-ship-disaster-sinking-captain, The Costa Concordia Disaster: How Human Error Made It Worse. They began launching the remaining lifeboats, with up to 90 people in each, but were unable to start their engines. Even if he's not convicted, it is highly unlikely that he'll ever command a cruise or cargo ship again because of the damage to his reputation, said Prof. Craig Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Those who did earned instant infamy, like the captain of the Greek luxury liner Oceanos, which sank in rough seas off South Africa in 1991. The captain must first ensure the safety of his passengers, then of his crew and, finally, of the ship, though the notion that he's supposed to go down with it is more legend than fact. After the sinking, Avranas attracted extensive media coverage, often being vilified and used as an example of poor professional behaviour while in command. All the while, the wind and swell were steadily dropping and, at 12:30, the decision to dive was made. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. He said the export to the electric generators had been opened by a surge and water was pouring in. Through the confusion,the captain somehow made it into a lifeboat before everyone else had made it off. The British inquiry essentially exonerated him, saying he did nothing other captains wouldnt have done. And on the boat what could he do in addition., The circumstances were tragic and my responsibility was more than great. I would avoid any cruise that involves a Greek ship! Coast Guard to capt. I am on business., Pryal said he trailed Smith to a train station. This window period, although based on unscientific information provided by maritime vessels in the area, falls in May and December. Italy's highest court has upheld the 16-year jail sentence given to the captain of the Costa Concordia, which capsized in 2012 killing 32 people. Oceanos headed into 40-knot winds and 9 m (30 ft) swells. Captain Yiannis Avranas told reporters in Durban that he did not desert the ship but left to coordinate rescue efforts from shore. [1] He was married to British national Davina Avrana.[3]. The impact and water leakage caused an electrical blackout on the ship, and a recorded phone call with Costa Crocieres crisis coordinator, Roberto Ferrarini, shows he tried to downplay and cover up his actions by saying the blackout was what actually caused the accident. Oceanos is one of the documented tragedies ever to happen in the sea and following a probe by maritime authorities, the captain and his crew were found to . Under charter by TFC Tours,[1] Oceanos initially delayed by a bomb threat set out from East London, South Africa on 3 August 1991, and headed for Durban. Its captain was accused of manslaughter and abandoning the 4,200 passengers and crew on the night of the wreck. The most famous, perhaps, is the captain of the Titanic, E.J. Since the year of her sinking, the Oceanos has remained in solitary confinement, guarded by the Agulhas current and the secluded landscape of the Transkei. The MV Oceanos was a 153m passenger ship, built in 1952 and designed to carry 550 passengers and 250 crew. The impact damaged the ship, allowing water to seep in and putting the 4,229 people on board in danger. By the next morning rescuers found Oceanos adrift just off Coffee Bay, on the Wild Coast. The unethical, unprofessional prick are working as a Captain of a ferry in Greece. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived . The Italian captain went back onboard the wreck for the first time since the sinking of the cruise ship on January 13, 2012, as part of his trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship. She came to rest on her starboard side almost perpendicular to the coastline, with her bow facing seaward. "[9] They were among the last to be rescued. [9][11][16][17] Avranas's emergency management was again widely cited after the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012. The ocean had reached the point where the sea was 81 meters deep. The notorious Master of the vessel was Captain Yiannis Avranas. Often, as in the case of Schettino, charges are brought based not on dereliction of maritime duty but for offenses that might pertain on land as well, such as negligence and manslaughter. The Oceanos arrived in South Africa in 1991. Although Smith had ordered the boats uncovered some 40 minutes earlier, he didnt give the order to begin loading and lowering them until Second Officer Charles Lightoller reminded him by asking, Hadnt we better get the women and children into the boats, sir?. A more recent example is Robert Royer, the captain of a fishing vessel that sank off Alaska in 2010. / Updated May 22, 2010 / 12:42 PM PDT 20 PHOTOS . The 9 Worst Cruise Ship Disasters | Oyster.com Yiannis Avranas (born ca. The cruise ship had sailed with seven beauforts. An iceberg, sir, First Officer William Murdoch replied. I will certainly avoid any Greek ferriesof course truth be known, I avoid all foreign ferries since I don't trust what they think an acceptable number of passengers is. What Was the Titanics Captain Doing While the Ship Sank. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Those who did earned instant infamy, like the captain of the Greek luxury liner Oceanos, which sank in rough seas off South Africa in 1991. Diesel, emanating from the wreck for nearly 12 years, was visible around the marker buoy an indication that the entire water column lay still. The helicopter was used to survey conditions around the wreck that lies at a distance of 9.5km from Hole in the Wall. He speaks five foreign languages, originally from Kasos, but was born in Egypt. Everyone on board the cruise ship Oceanos was safe and accounted for Monday, but survivors angrily accused the . "Ahab is a great example in the sense that he knows a captain should go down with his ship," says Wyn Kelley, a Melville scholar at MIT. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. May she rest in peace and be as kind to those that follow this great accomplishment. ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright 1996 - 2022 deeperblue.net limited. With holes in its walls, loose hull plates, and missing parts that control the flow of water, it looked pretty neglected. The Oceanos lost power following a leak in the engine room's sea chest. Steen Brodersen, a retired Danish captain, said that every single crew member, from the chief mate to the cooks, has a designated role in an emergency on a cruise ship. It was as if the Wild Coast had been tranquilized by a hunters dart. "They were to stand at attention on the sinking ship until the women and children their wives and children were led off the boats.". However, rough seas caused the party to be held inside in the Four Seasons lounge;[5] most passengers chose to stay in their cabins. So began the worst night of Edward John Smiths otherwise charmed life. Her captain, Yiannis Avranas, and some of the crew were convicted of negligence for fleeing the ship without helping the passengers, who were subsequently rescued thanks to the efforts of the ship's entertainers, who made a mayday transmission, launched lifeboats, and helped South African Marines land on the ship from naval helicopters. He didnt give up on the mystery ship, ordering the crew of at least one lifeboat to row toward the lights, drop off passengers and return to Titanic for more. Sunk by uncontrolled flooding on 4 August 1991 off the coast of South Africa. "Heres why and how the Oceanos sank off the Wild Coast", Sunday Tribune, 26 Feb, 2017, A Captain's Tale: 'The Rescue Was Perfect - Everybody Is Safe', OCEANOS CAPTAIN INSISTED ON EARLY RESCUE, DIVER SAYS, South Africa probes cause of luxury liner's sinking, Cruise captain sparks outrage among mariners, "Costa Concordia Tragedy: Capt. Schettino also didnt immediately alert the Italian Search and Rescue Authority about the accident. Now he was about to preside over one of the worst sea disasters of all time. None of the 571 passengers drowned. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when it suffered uncontrolled flooding.MTS Oceanos. Both literature and real life offer plenty of examples of shipmasters who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their passengers and crew. Maritime experts said the tradition of a captain standing by his ship isn't established in international maritime law. Something strong wind, something the helicopter pilot, they didnt let me down he said. Brodersen, 60, said he never had to deal with that kind of situation, but he has sometimes thought about his own limit, when his survival instinct would trump the hope of salvaging a doomed ship. The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, slammed into a reef on Friday, after Schettino made an unauthorized maneuver. Best Known For: Captain Edward J. Smith played a role in one of the most famous disasters at sea in history, the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The teams arrival at Hole in the Wall on Saturday, May 3, was scheduled to coincide with a window period in which there is a reduction in the force of the Agulhas current. (Schettino insisted the ship sailed close to shore to salute other mariners and give passengers a good view.) On schedule, the shallow-water backup team left the boat and descended toward the decompressing divers. Francesco Schettino Sparks Outrage", "Revisiting the sinking of Oceanos part 1:Heroic Rescue Effort Saves 571", Down With The Ship NPR Snap Judgement episode #726, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MTS_Oceanos&oldid=1151622929, Sunk by uncontrolled flooding on 4 August 1991 off the coast of, This page was last edited on 25 April 2023, at 05:19. A magician who had been performing on the ship took over the bridge, monitoring rescue calls, as a fellow entertainer kept passengers calm by playing Beatles songs on his guitar. ", "Costa Concordia Tragedy: Capt. [citation needed], While trying to make up lost time, Oceanos encountered rough seas. MTS Oceanos - Wikipedia There was no reply to either. He made the wrong choice. The captain went up to the third of these. Thomas Andrews, the Titanics head designer, reported that his inspection revealed flooding in at least five of the Titanics 16 watertight compartments. The crew said that likely saved their lives, because the ship's emergency beacon didn't work. Lee Jun-Seok, who was one of the first to flee from the ferry as it sank on Wednesday. The one who abandoned ship along with his officers and crew and left the entertainers aboard to organize the rescue in August of 1991 off the African coast? The Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when it suffered uncontrolled flooding.MTS Oceanos. But the Carpathia was 58 milesor some four hoursaway. At any time when you have an incident similar to Concordia, there is nevera single causal factor, says Brad Schoenwald, a senior marine inspector at the United States Coast Guard. Ship Captain. Life seems to have been unaware that immediately after Silent Smiths death in 1915, the Lima News had identified the man as one Michael McKenna. The ships engineer reported to Captain Yiannis Avranias that water was entering the hull and flooding the generator room. Barry Coleman was yelling, Its a good day to dive, I can feel it in my bones! Well, a good day it certainly was! For a moment, they disappeared where had the bubbles gone? HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. A Greek board of inquiry found Avranas and four officers negligent in their handling of the disaster. Fleeing in a lifeboat, they were told by the captain of a rescue ship to go back and help their passengers. Stranger still are several widely publicized reports that he didnt die at all. He had also left the radio operator on board, and they were talking. Italys highest court has upheld the 16-year jail sentence given to the captain of the Costa Concordia, which capsized in 2012 killing 32 people. It is this forward section of the wreck that incurred the wrath of the ocean floor as the bow slammed into the seabed. I would avoid any cruise that involves a Greek ship! A recording of his conversation with the Italian Coast Guard suggests he fled before all passengers were off, and resisted repeated orders to go back, saying the ship was tipping and it was dark. Francesco Schettino, were charged with various crimes. "When I order abandon ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave," Avranas said. But over 100 people left on board, crew and passengers. The captain still had some hope of averting total disaster. Francesco Schettino had handed himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome after the verdict, his lawyer said. 1940)[1] is a Greek former sea captain who commanded the cruise ship Oceanos when she sank off the Wild Coast of the Transkei, South Africa, on Sunday 4 August 1991. The dive was aborted for the day. What should I say to the media? To the port authorities I have said that we hada blackout. (Ferrarini was later convicted for contributing to the disaster by delaying rescue operations.). The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner The decision was to be his last as captain of the Oceanos. Jean Laborde went through many different owners and name changes (Jean Laborde, Mykinai, Ancona, Eastern Princess) in the succeeding decades. Captain of MTS Oceanos. As in August, throughout the two-week period of the expedition, they only managed to reach the wreck on two occasions with a maximum bottom time of eight minutes. At about 9:30p.m., a muffled explosion was heard and Oceanos lost power. Family members of passengers on a South Korean ferry that sank look at lists of survivors on Wednesday.
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