As author Wyn Craig Wade wrote in The Titanic: End of a Dream, Captain Smith had at least five different deaths, from heroic to ignominious. Rumors of his survival also circulated. Meanwhile the extraction was completely broken, the engine room was filling water and tilting forward the ship. "I'm kind of flummoxed that a master of a passenger ship anywhere in the world would not understand his obligation extends until that last person is safely off the ship," says Craig Allen, director of the Arctic Law & Policy Institute at the University of Washington. Five divers, including the late Rehan Bouwer, made four attempts to reach the Oceanos, but only succeeded twice, and then only for a matter of minutes. We strive for accuracy and fairness. An In Memoriam vintage postcard featuring the Titanic which sank after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 14, 1912 and commemorating her captain, Edward Smith and brave bandsmen, published in Redruth, c. May 1912. Evacuation was made even more chaotic by the ship listing so far to starboard, making walking inside very difficult and lowering the lifeboats on one side, near to impossible. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Francesco Schettino Sparks Outrage". Special Event: Q&A with Rudi Schreiner, President, Co-Founder & Co-Owner - AmaWaterways River Cruises, Q&A with Avoya Travel: Learn How to Turn Your Passion into Success by Becoming an Independent Travel Advisor. Schettino argued that he fell into a lifeboat because of how the ship was listing to one side, but this argument proved unconvincing. ", Report: Captain claims he "tripped" into lifeboat. 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. 1940) had been an officer for twenty years and a seaman for thirty. The MV Oceanos was a 153 meter passenger ship, built in 1952 and designed to carry 550 passengers and 250 crew. Concern showed on everyones faces, but although an immense amount of planning, effort, and money is poured into conducting a deep-diving expedition, the safety of those involved is always the priority. A 2:20 a.m., the last portion of the Titanic disappeared between the waves. Both he and Paul had to carry stage cylinders for Brett that would be required at specific depths, so the team had to remain together throughout the dive. The waves reached 14 meters. At sea, there's no question about who's in charge, so there's no doubt who is responsible for safety. But the report noted that some passengers testified that they didnt hear the alarm to proceed to the lifeboats. [5] The generators were shut down because the rising water would have short circuited them. The team rushed to kit up and made their way to the launch site, eager to climb through the open window of opportunity while it lasted. Tonight on Dateline(NBC) they are doing a special about the sinking of the Greek cruise ship, Oceanos, and the survivors from 8-4-91. In 1991, Capt. He remains incarcerated in a prison just outside of Rome, where he is expected to stay until he is around 80 years old. The lights went out and the ship got an unusual inclination, but none of the crew advised us, he says in telephone communication from Ireland. It was owned by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and chartered at the time by a South African company, TFC Tours. Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features. The divers descended the anchor line and were able to return to it some twenty minutes later, after making their way around most of this 152 m wreck. During the ensuing trial, prosecutors came up with a tabloid-ready explanation: The married ship captain had sailed it so close to the island to impress a much younger Moldovan dancer with whom he was having an affair. Captain of White Star Liner, RMS Titanic, Commander Edward J. Smith, c. 1911. January 19, 2012 / 3:02 PM 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. The moment was immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as the "Birkenhead drill." Before the sailing they were given for inspection. The ship's captain, Yiannis Avranas, had 30 years' experience at sea. There were also 12 inflatable rescue media on the cruise ship. ", First published on January 19, 2012 / 3:02 PM. The day of the first dive had dawned. 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. The chief engineer reported to Captain Avranas that water was entering the hull and flooding the generator room. Seamen have expressed almost universal outrage at Capt. 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. It was now just after 12:30 a.m. The onsite expedition requirements included everything from personal diving gear, three imported Silent Submersion scooters, twenty staged decompression cylinders, a specialized mixed gas compressor unit, several large oxygen, and helium cylinders, three 7.3m rigid hull inflatable boats, an evacuation helicopter, and trained medical personnel. "When they go bad, they're evil," Shealy says. On the morning of July 12, 1952, Forges Chantiers de la Gironde launched the last of four sister ships in Bordeaux, France, under the name of Jean Laborde. Still hoping to get the attention of the mysterious ship nearby, the captain ordered the firing of distress rockets at 12:45 a.m. At the same time, Boxhall tried to contact it with a signal lamp, flashing a plea for help in Morse code. En route to Durban, the Oceanos cruise ship set out from the port of East London on Saturday, August 3, 1991, into 40-knot winds and nine-meter swells. "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. [3] Entertainment manager Robin Boltman was credited with gathering the passengers in the lounge and playing music to calm them. Spouse. Oceanos was briefly featured in the 1985 film Sky High and with another Epirotiki ship, Apollon XI, in the 1986 film Hardbodies 2. The storm worsened as the evening progressed and when the first sitting of dinner was served, the waiters could hardly carry the trays of food without dropping something. The Oceanos crew was referred to disciplinary inspection for withdrawal of diploma or grade, but they were all acquitted.. An iceberg, sir, First Officer William Murdoch replied. The avoidable disaster killed 32 people and seriously injured many others, and left investigators wondering: Why was the luxury cruise ship sailing so close to the shore in the first place? Francesco Schettino had handed himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome after the verdict, his lawyer said. When they bail early, everything falls apart. [5] The final minutes of her sinking were captured on video and broadcast by ABC News. "A lot of this is candidly still more lore than law," says Miller Shealy, a maritime law professor at the Charleston School of Law. But is it realistic to expect skippers only human after all to suppress their survival instinct amid the horror of a maritime disaster? Then 15 minutes later, the bubbles returned, and there was a sigh of relief. It was also discussed in an episode of Nova on 18 April 2012, entitled, "Why Ships Sink", which focused mainly on the Costa Concordia accident (whose commanding officer also fled while passengers were still aboard). http://www.aolvideoblog.com/2007/08/21/crew-bails-on-passengers-of-sinking-cruise-liner/. As provided for by Greek Maritime Law pursuant to Article 223: Captain of non-departures last during the abandonment of a dangerous ship, punishable by imprisonment and penalty of money . MTS Oceanos - Wikipedia Only entertainment staff, singers and waiters helped us later. Authorities isolated officers and sailors at a hotel. The ship underwent several name changes, including Mykinai, Ancona, Eastern Princess, and finally, in 1976, under the ownership of Pontos Nav SA, she was registered in Piraeus, Greece, under the name of SS Oceanos. Barry and Paul were on closed-circuit rebreathers, a Buddy Inspiration rebreather, and a CIS-Lunar MK5P rebreather, respectively. The MV Oceanos was a 153m passenger ship, built in 1952 and designed to carry 550 passengers and 250 crew. In addition to Schettino, Ferrarini and Rusli Bin, the other people who received convictions for their role in the disaster were Cabin Service Director Manrico Giampedroni, First Officer Ciro Ambrosio and Third Officer Silvia Coronica. And the second boat was only cooks. 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. Here's a link if you want to see a video of the story. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. [1] Avranas was quoted in the New York Times as saying, "When I give the order abandon ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. The 9 Worst Cruise Ship Disasters | Oyster.com Nothing less will do in this profession," said Jorgen Loren, captain of a passenger ferry operating between Sweden and Denmark and chairman of the Swedish Maritime Officer's Association. Technical diving is an exact science, and every member of the team performed their tasks with efficiency and focus. Surviving wireless operator Harold Bride, a more reliable witness, said hed seen Smith dive from the bridge into the sea. Others said he was swept off by a wave orhaving been swept offswam back to the Titanic to meet his end. Family members of passengers on a South Korean ferry that sank look at lists of survivors on Wednesday. In an account attributed to Titanic fireman Harry Senior, Smith jumped off the ship with an infant clutched tenderly in his arms, swam to a nearby lifeboat, handed off the child and swam back toward the Titanic, saying, I will follow the ship.. This window period, although based on unscientific information provided by maritime vessels in the area, falls in May and December. Attaining a maximum depth of 86.4m, the three divers initially made their way North to the stern, where Brett Hawton had time to pose next to the raised Greek lettering, spelling out the name OKEANOZ. 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. Although Barry, Paul, and Brett would dive to the Oceanos as a team, they were all on different equipment. Heres some good live video when it happened!!! Epirotiki Lines had lost two other ships within the three years preceding the sinking: the company's flagship Pegasus only two months before, and MV Jupiter, three years before. In more than 40 years at sea he had rarely been involved in an accident and never held accountable for one. In 2015, a court found Schettino guilty of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, abandoning ship before passengers and crew were evacuated and lying to authorities about the disaster. 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. South Korean authorities have arrested Capt. But whatever relief Smith might have felt at that moment was quickly shattered. 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. (Schettino insisted the ship sailed close to shore to salute other mariners and give passengers a good view.) No matter what time I leave. Some countries, like Italy, have included it in national laws. But with no sign of conditions improving, the captain eventually decided to lift anchor and the Oceanos, with 581 guests and crew on board, sailed off into 40-knot winds and 9m-high (30ft) waves. However, rough seas caused the party to be held inside in the Four Seasons lounge;[5] most passengers chose to stay in their cabins. A Greek board of inquiry found Avranas and four officers negligent in their handling of the disaster. [8] They were assisted by the lifeboats of the Dutch cargo ship Nedlloyd Mauritius, which had responded to the distress call. [10][failed verification], Avranas claimed that he left the ship first in order to arrange for a rescue effort,[11] and then supervised it from a helicopter. 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), https://www.history.com/news/titanic-captain-edward-smith-final-hours-death. It is believed[by whom?] To ask them to stare down death from the bridge, as the lights go out and the water rises, until everyone else has made it to safety? Coast Guard to capt. But the weather was so bad that the helicopter crew advised against boarding". The sense that captains are beyond the law that they are the law, or at least they were, during the age of sail is why they make such great bad guys. [5], Oceanos sank bow first approximately 45 minutes after the last person was airlifted from the deck. The current on the surface was running reverse, and there was no sign of the dreaded Northeaster. MACHINE LEARNING INVESTING IS SPECULATIVE BY NATURE. In Greece the case was referred to the High Council of Maritime Accidents of the Ministry of Maritime. [4] The storm worsened, and at approximately 21:30 UTC+2, while off the Wild Coast of the Transkei, a muffled explosion was heard. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when it suffered uncontrolled flooding.MTS Oceanos. Think of Bligh, or Queeg, or the autocratic captains who drive many of the novels and stories of Herman Melville. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991. We were crazy to do that dive.. 2012 The Associated Press. "It is my responsibility. I have made a mess and practically the whole ship is flooding, Schettino told Ferrarini while the ship was sinking. Smith now knew the Titanic was doomed. He said he supervised the . At about 15:30 the following day, the Oceanos could hold her head up no longer and sank. [14] He was never incarcerated and Epirotiki gave him command of a ferry until his retirement. 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. Open an account with Rebellion Research now and manage your assets intelligently. In between, however, the first engineer was terrified. Gas exchanges with backup divers at set points during the ascent worked flawlessly, and the divers surfaced on schedule without incident. The ship they spotted in the distance didnt answer, but several others did. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. Captain Yiannis Avranas who left passengers to die? 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. The Concordia was supposed to take passengers on a seven-day Italian cruise from Civitavecchia to Savona. In the middle of the 19th century, there were a number of incidents in which ships foundered and captains and their crews were either celebrated for leading the rescue or reviled for saving themselves while passengers drowned. By God, you are right! Smith 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. [5] They used the radio phone to broadcast a mayday distress call until Moss received a response.[7]. The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. The reaction of the first engineer sabotaged the captains original plan. The Costa Concordia Disaster: How Human Error Made It Worse - History I knew then we were soon going.. "If the master is simply looking out for himself or herself, you've breached your duty both legally and morally, to your ship, your crew and your passengers," says Allen, the University of Washington law professor. 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 Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. The current, too, was very strong, and the team was worried. The notorious master of the vessel was Captain Yiannis Avranas. What Happened to the Cruise Ship Oceanos? - LuxuryTravelDiva The generators had been shorted, and the supply of power to the engines had been severed. I just watched national geografic program about the Oceanos tragedy. The British inquiry essentially exonerated him, saying he did nothing other captains wouldnt have done. What Happened to the Captain of the Cruise Ship Oceanos? [15], Prior to the events of January 1991, Avranas had apparently given no interview to the media. NAVY DIVER SAYS OCEANOS CAPTAIN DEMANDED TO BE ONE OF FIRST RESCUED. On the front page was a Kostas Mitropoulos cartoon that lampooned the Captain, it read: Where to take you captain?the helicopter pilot asked him as he rescued him from the sinking ship named Ocean of failures. [citation needed], Once the engines stopped, the ship began to roll so badly that in the lounge, which is where the passengers had gathered, crockery and cutlery began sliding off the tables and potted plants fell over. At this stage, eyewitness accounts reveal that many of the crew, including Captain Avranas, were already packed and ready to depart. Bill Wright, senior vice president of Marine Operations for the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. How did the Oceanos go into the sea? It was August 3, 1991 when Rosemary Roe saw the dishes slipping on the table during dinner. The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner Most have heard the story, the sinking of the OCEANOS with 571 passengers and crew on board, none of whom suffered . After the required decompression runtimes, the divers surfaced, and the team returned to shore. On August 7, a news report emerged with the title: Battle for the critical hours . A little more than an hour after impact, the crew began to evacuate the ship. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. is University of Washington a good school. [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. [citation needed] An inflatable had to be launched to rescue some passengers who panicked and jumped into the water. The Greatest Maritime Rescue Ever? The MV Oceanos Rescue - Bowmans 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. Oceanos was very poorly maintained while simultaneously operating in one of the most dangerous and rough areas of the oceans. Outwardly, Smith seems to have kept up a brave front, appearing captain-like to the last, at least to most observers. After an hour of waiting, he said he saw Smith coming, approached him, and asked him how we was. Captains Uncourageous: Abandoning Ship Long Seen As A Crime Sinking of the Oceanos 1991 - Cruise Critic Community Yiannis Avranas not only abandoned the Greek cruise ship Oceanos after it suffered an explosion off the coast of South Africa but cut ahead of an elderly passenger to be hoisted aloft by a helicopter. At first it appeared as if Smiths luck was going to hold. [5][6] Thirteen of the sixteen were South African Air Force Pumas, nine of which hoisted 225 passengers off the deck. In a matter of minutes, the occupants returned with a very favorable report on conditions. [1], Oceanos was launched in July 1952 by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde in Bordeaux, France as Jean Laborde, the last of four sister ships built for Messageries Maritimes. ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright 1996 - 2022 deeperblue.net limited. Becky Little is a journalist based in Washington, D.C. 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. No one knows exactly where Captain E.J. 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. While the ship could have stayed afloat with up to four flooded compartments, depending on their location, five tipped into catastrophic territory. They were taken from the hotel to the airport five minutes before the plane left, otherwise we would still be there judging us , says Nikolaou. Both literature and real life offer plenty of examples of shipmasters who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their passengers and crew. The sewage and water systems had their one way "check valves" removed and not replaced. [22] The show Extreme Weather: The Survivors featured a segment on the sinking. Schettino also didnt immediately alert the Italian Search and Rescue Authority about the accident. The ships engineer reported to Captain Yiannis Avranias that water was entering the hull and flooding the generator room. Will this discovery change our understanding of Titanic's final moments? In 1991, Yiannis Avranas, the captain of a Greek cruise liner, was also strongly criticised after leaving the ship as it started to sink off the South African coast. [20][21], Dateline NBC aired a documentary of the incident on 23 May 2010. 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 . After ramming into the sea floor, the Oceanos slipped silently beneath the waves. Stranger still are several widely publicized reports that he didnt die at all. Edward Smith went down with the Titanic, the notion that a captain must stay with his ship became part of folklore. Unable to spend sufficient time on the wreck, the Camera 7 team was forced to deploy a remote, surface-controlled camera to acquire the footage required for their investigation. Everyone on board the cruise ship Oceanos was safe and accounted for Monday, but survivors angrily accused the . Maritime officials who did not want to be quoted said it was . The ship ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. One week later, a 32-member team arrived on the scene as part of MNet Camera 7 news channels investigative documentary into the sinking of the Oceanos. When his "death-glorious ship" sinks, Ahab mourns that he's been denied the "pride" of having gone down with her. [9] All 581 people on board were saved. One of the divers, Karl van der Merwe, commented, The current was so strong that it would rip your mask off your face and your regulator out of your mouth. It is this forward section of the wreck that incurred the wrath of the ocean floor as the bow slammed into the seabed. : "Go back on board!". All the while, the wind and swell were steadily dropping and, at 12:30, the decision to dive was made. [5], No alarm or announcement had been given that the ship was in trouble; with other entertainers working on the cruise, Moss Hills a musician from Zimbabwe and former member of Four Jacks and a Jill who had been performing with his wife Tracy in the lounge, explored below decks, discovered that Oceanos appeared to be sinking, and were informed by the cruise director, Lorraine Betts, that the captain had given the order to abandon ship and some crew had already left in a lifeboat. The last charge carries a potential sentence of 12 years in prison. 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. Captain Yiannis Avranas told reporters in Durban that he did not desert the ship but left to coordinate rescue efforts from shore. The unethical, unprofessional prick are working as a Captain of a ferry in Greece. The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, slammed into a reef on Friday, after Schettino made an unauthorized maneuver. / Updated May 22, 2010 / 12:42 PM PDT 20 PHOTOS . [5][23][24], The Oceanos wreck lies at a depth of between 92m (302ft) and 97m (318ft), about 5km (3.1mi) offshore. Navy Diver Says Oceanos Captain Demanded to Be One of First Rescued According to the International Herald Tribune, "Avranas said he had known when he left the ship that there were 170 passengers and crew still aboard [but this was] the only way [to] ensure the safety of all those aboard", furthermore "after checking the situation from the shore, he said, he flew back to the ship on a helicopter, intending to go back on board. Yiannis Avranas (born ca. Rescue helicopters began arriving three hours later, and winched passengers and remaining crew to safety, with Hills continuing in charge of the orderly evacuation. On schedule, the shallow-water backup team left the boat and descended toward the decompressing divers. And on the boat what could he do in addition., The circumstances were tragic and my responsibility was more than great. The ship was built in France and owned by a Greek cruise ship company. What happened to the captain of the Oceanos? - AnswersAll Reports indicate that at around 21:30 off the Wild Coast of the Transkei, the Oceanus Cruise ship lost its power following an explosion in the engine room. Francesco Schettino, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and of abandoning his crippled cruise ship off Tuscany while passengers were still on board. Family members of passengers on a South Korean ferry that sank look at lists of survivors on Wednesday. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived . I would avoid any cruise that involves a Greek ship! If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. He was 46 years old. He didnt give up though. For a villain, there was J. Bruce Ismay, the White Star chairman, who got off in a lifeboat and was accused of pressuring Smith to maintain a reckless speed. Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images The captain of the Oceanos was an experienced seaman Yiannis Avranas, who had been sailing the oceans for 30 years, including 20 years as an officer. Abandonment is for everybody, if some people want to stay, they can stay. It was as if the Wild Coast had been tranquilized by a hunters dart. The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. They had returned them as they had sent them., Two babies, one 22 days old and the other one year old I put them down with a bucket (bucket) on the boat, he says. But the Carpathia was 58 milesor some four hoursaway. INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT INTEND TO MAKE AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION FOR THE SALE OR PURCHASE OF ANY SPECIFIC SECURITIES PRODUCT, SERVICE OR INVESTMENT STRATEGY. "If you are leader, you have responsibility for your people, they put their lives in your hands.". He wanted to see where they were taking the crew to land. He also knew that its 20 lifeboats, with a total capacity of 1,178, couldnt begin to accommodate the more than 2,200 passengers and crew members aboard. . This page is not available in other languages. How does the braking system work in a car? In the U.S., case law indicates that a ship's master must be the last person to leave and make all reasonable efforts to save everyone and everything on it.
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