An often asked question is what happened to the captain of the oceans at this stage, eyewitness accounts reveal that many of the crew, including Captain Avranias, were already packed and ready to depart, seemingly unconcerned with the safety of the passengers. Abandon is for everybody. [5], Earlier repairs to the waste disposal system had not been completed, which meant that a vital ventilation pipe which ran through the watertight aft bulkhead and the non-return valves were not replaced. Although only three divers made it to the wreck, it was the role of each team member that made it possible. The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. Video footage shows their progress as pale rays of sunlight filtered through the corridor windows, throwing subtle illuminations across the dark interior. This statement has placed the 51-year-old . In 1991, Capt. 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. Has the old idea that captains should not abandon ship itself been abandoned? TRY ASKING HOST DOUGhe usually knows those things. From Times Wire Services. 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. 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. 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. While we were busy on one hand throwing the boats they went the other way and left, says Nikolaou. 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. 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. Whether or not Captain Francesco Schettino was trying to impress his girlfriend is debatable. Smith, who evacuated the ship women and children first until there were no lifeboats left, and then perished with it. hide caption. Then, about two years ago, South African technical divers Barry Coleman and Brett Hawton decided it was time to revisit the Oceanos. Diving The Oceanos. He said he supervised the . HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. [3][4] Oceanos headed into 40-knot winds and 9m (30ft) swells. [citation needed]. Then 15 minutes later, the bubbles returned, and there was a sigh of relief. Given that the officers of the vessel had all fled in . It was also around 12:45 a.m. that crewmen lowered the first of the Titanics lifeboats to the ocean surface. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved. Whilst laying the anchor line on the Oceanos that day, the boats remained almost stationary as the opposing forces of wind and current battled against each other for ascendancy. The success of the 1988 cruise season in South Africa was the motivation for her return in 1991 on an eight-month charter for TFC Tours of Johannesburg. How does the braking system work in a car? Lee Jun-Seok, who was one of the first to flee from the ferry as it sank on Wednesday. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. IIRC his response to being in a life boat was, "he was oraganizing the rescue effort! Hills was interviewed in the special, and related that some years later he had been on board when the MS Achille Lauro of Star Lauro sank. May she rest in peace and be as kind to those that follow this great accomplishment. The current on the surface was running reverse, and there was no sign of the dreaded Northeaster. In an interview with the captain, he jokingly remarked that if the ship should sink, he would be on the first lifeboat off the ship. Is the Oceanos still at the bottom of the ocean? With hundreds of people on board, the ship springs a leak, then . The captain went up to the third of these. 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. The Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. [5][23][24], The Oceanos wreck lies at a depth of between 92m (302ft) and 97m (318ft), about 5km (3.1mi) offshore. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. At this stage, eyewitness accounts reveal that many of the crew, including Captain Avranas, were already packed and ready to depart. Outwardly, Smith seems to have kept up a brave front, appearing captain-like to the last, at least to most observers. She headed into 40-knot (20m/s) winds and 9m (30ft) swells. Yiannis Avranas (born ca. They understood their roles and contributed to the success of this dive. Yonhap/EPA/Landov 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. He had also left the radio operator on board, and they were talking. 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. The reaction of the first engineer sabotaged the captains original plan. ", Report: Captain claims he "tripped" into lifeboat. Having reached the limit of Bretts safe air supply and time underwater, the divers returned to the anchor line to begin their ascent. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}320715S 290713E / 32.12083S 29.12028E / -32.12083; 29.12028 (Oceanos wreck). "[9] They were among the last to be rescued. I never saw the captain among us helping, he says.. That was one of several incidents that have led some historians to question whether Smith had gone into a state of shock. Powered by Invision Community. 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. While the ship could have stayed afloat with up to four flooded compartments, depending on their location, five tipped into catastrophic territory. The Oceanos arrived in South Africa in 1991. By the next morning rescuers found Oceanos adrift just off Coffee Bay, on the Wild Coast. For many years, seasoned technical diver, Barry Coleman, has had one consuming desire: to dive the Oceanos. No alarm was raised. In another instance, Smith ordered that a lifeboat be lowered from the boat deck to the promenade deck, so passengers could climb in more easily. UK Retailer Simply Scuba Goes Into Administration For Good This Time, Dive Curaao Launches New All-In-One Vacation Platform. Family members of passengers on a South Korean ferry that sank look at lists of survivors on Wednesday. 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. 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. REBELLION RESEARCH ADVISORS, L.P. IS A REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISER AND NOT FOR PROFIT EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH THINK TANK. Captain of White Star Liner, RMS Titanic, Commander Edward J. Smith, c. 1911. In August 1991 I was a junior partner in the maritime . The ships engineer reported to Captain Yiannis Avranias that water was entering the hull and flooding the generator room. EAST LONDON, South Africa . An iceberg, sir, First Officer William Murdoch replied. More than 4,200 people were rescued, though 32 people died. "When they go bad, they're evil," Shealy says. At about 15:30 the following day, the Oceanos could hold her head up no longer and sank. Most have heard the story, the sinking of the OCEANOS with 571 passengers and crew on board, none of whom suffered . The generators had been shorted, and the supply of power to the engines had been severed. [2] Photographs taken in 2002 show that the bridge section has collapsed. I knew then we were soon going.. Francesco Schettino, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and of abandoning his crippled cruise ship off Tuscany while passengers were still on board. All the while, the wind and swell were steadily dropping and, at 12:30, the decision to dive was made. 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.. Brett was on twin set 36-litre open circuit back-gas, with two 12-liter side-mounted cylinders. We were crazy to do that dive.. In more than 40 years at sea he had rarely been involved in an accident and never held accountable for one. 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. [5][6] Thirteen of the sixteen were South African Air Force Pumas, nine of which hoisted 225 passengers off the deck. It has been reported that the ship was in a state of neglected maintenance with loose hull plates and an unfitted ventilation pipe. None of the 571 passengers drowned. MACHINE LEARNING INVESTING IS SPECULATIVE BY NATURE. "He deeply regrets not being with his crew. Heres some good live video when it happened!!! All Rights Reserved. Several witnesses claimed to have seen him in the water. Christos Nikolaou did not know what was said about him and his colleagues at the time. The chief engineer reported to Captain Avranas that water was entering the hull and flooding the generator room. In August 2005, a Titanic wreckage expedition found two large, extraordinarily well-preserved sections of the bottom of the ship's hull. 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. 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. 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? January 19, 2012 / 3:02 PM Rear Adm. Richard Gurnon, president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy called Schettino's actions "abhorrent" and a violation of an unwritten code. Realizing the ships fate, the crew fled in panic, neglecting to close the lower deck portholes, which is standard policy during emergency procedures. It was an event that ended with the sinking of a family cruise shi. In 1976, she was acquired by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and registered under the name of Oceanos.[2]. [1] He was married to British national Davina Avrana.[3]. August 3, 1991: An explosion shakes the engine room of the Greek cruise ship, Oceanos, as it sails off the South African coast. WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO BUSINESS IN NEW YORK, TEXAS AND KENTUCKY ALONG WITH OTHER STATES WHERE WE ARE REGISTERED, EXEMPTED OR EXCLUDED FROM REGISTRATION. 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. 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. Francesco Schettino had handed himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome after the verdict, his lawyer said. The ship ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. March 5, 2004. A South African navy diver said the captain of the sunken Greek liner Oceanos pushed past elderly pa. 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. Use of this site is governed by the User Agreement, Privacy Policy(function(w,d){var loader=function(){var s=d.createElement("script"),tag=d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];s.src="https://cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js";tag.parentNode.insertBefore(s,tag);};if(w.addEventListener){w.addEventListener("load",loader,false);}else if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent("onload",loader);}else{w.onload=loader;}})(window,document); and Disclosure Policy. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The World witnessed an ugly scene back on 03 August 1991 when MTS Oceanos sunk in 1991 because of uncontrolled floods. Why did the captain go down with the ship? [16] A South African Navy Diver testified that the captain had insisted on being taken ashore by the first helicopter. That is unbelievable!! There was no stopping the flooding and no hope for the Oceanos sinking. In his characteristic style, he managed to weave a comical moment into his narrative of the tumultuous events, telling reporters that he had started singing "Bye Bye Miss American Pie", when he suddenly realised that the next line was going to be "Thisll be the day that I die" - and quickly switched to another song[14][15], Hills later said that searching for Captain Avranas, he had discovered him smoking on the fantail and he said "I think he was in deep, deep shock. "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. Two small ships in the vicinity were first on the scene, and provided the ship's coordinates to the South African authorities. He is being held in house arrest as prosecutors prepare criminal charges. Some countries, like Italy, have included it in national laws. 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. It was August 3, 1991 when Rosemary Roe saw the dishes slipping on the table during dinner. Greg Daugherty, alongtime magazine editor and frequent contributor to HISTORY.com, has also written on historical topics for Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, and other outlets. He would attempt to sit there. Captain Yiannis Avranas (born c. 1940) had been an officer for twenty years and a seaman for thirty. After twenty-seven minutes at 90m and thirty-four minutes on run time, an orange submersible marker buoy broke the surface, and the deep-water back divers bailed into the water. We were preparing to eat when the first mechanic warned us. Some early newspaper reports, allegedly supported by eyewitnesses, say he had shot himself with a pistol, though few historians give them any credence. He said the export to the electric generators had been opened by a surge and water was pouring in. At first it appeared as if Smiths luck was going to hold. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991. [6] When the ship's worsening list to starboard made it unsafe to continue, Hills and several passengers went to the bridge to look for the crew, but found it unmanned. Nearby vessels responded to the ships SOS and were the first to assist. [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. 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. / Updated May 22, 2010 / 12:42 PM PDT 20 PHOTOS . "You need someone on the ship to communicate with them, to command the people who are on the ship, to help get the passengers off and to guide the rescuers.". Brett and Paul penetrated the portside corridor behind the on-deck pool while Barry singularly explored the large dining hall area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWGXa8QivR4. There were also 12 inflatable rescue media on the cruise ship. He didnt give up though. Something strong wind, something the helicopter pilot, they didnt let me down he said. The Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. Regular drills ensure everyone knows what to do. [20][21], Dateline NBC aired a documentary of the incident on 23 May 2010. [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. 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. Only entertainment staff, singers and waiters helped us later. Legal proceedings. "The captain called the men to attention," says William Fowler, a maritime historian at Northeastern University. Oceanos was very poorly maintained while simultaneously operating in one of the most dangerous and rough areas of the oceans. When his "death-glorious ship" sinks, Ahab mourns that he's been denied the "pride" of having gone down with her. The captain broadcasted a distress signal as he tried to steer the ship towards shore in order for rescuers to reach them. The divers had penetrated 70m into the wreck with the aid of the scooters. This window period, although based on unscientific information provided by maritime vessels in the area, falls in May and December. In between, however, the first engineer was terrified. 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? "There must be a point at which I would think that now it is time to jump into the water so I don't die," he said. "In this case there was more than enough time for the moment of panic to pass. Maritime officials who did not want to be quoted said it was . She came to rest on her starboard side almost perpendicular to the coastline, with her bow facing seaward. Very well, Pryal, the man supposedly answered, but please dont detain me. After the sinking, Avranas attracted extensive media coverage, often being vilified and used as an example of poor professional behaviour while in command. A Greek board of inquiry found Avranas and four officers negligent in their handling of the disaster. He remains incarcerated in a prison just outside of Rome, where he is expected to stay until he is around 80 years old. [16][11][17][18] He stated that he left the ship first to arrange for a rescue effort, and then supervised the rescue from a helicopter because "the batteries on the crew's walkie-talkies had died, meaning that he had no communications with his crew or with other rescue craft". The sinking of Oceanos. And he did not lighten his position after the accident when he told a foreign television station: The ship's abandonment applies to . Davina Avrana. [5] The final minutes of her sinking were captured on video and broadcast by ABC News. Smiths body was never recovered, and his final moments remain a mystery, with no shortage of conflicting accountsincluding one in which he jumped off the ship holding a baby. Captain of MTS Oceanos. We strive for accuracy and fairness. A 2:20 a.m., the last portion of the Titanic disappeared between the waves. Fleeing in a lifeboat, they were told by the captain of a rescue ship to go back and help their passengers. 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. In addition, Pryals doctor attested that he was absolutely sane and not given to hallucinations., In fact, Pryal said he had seen Smith twice, once on a Wednesday and again the following Saturday, when he returned to the same spot to look for him. http://www.aolvideoblog.com/2007/08/21/crew-bails-on-passengers-of-sinking-cruise-liner/. Ralph White/Corbis/Getty Images. It was owned by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and chartered at the time by a South African company, TFC Tours. The captain goes down with the ship is a maritime tradition suggesting that a captain is honor-bound to stay on a sinking ship until all passengers and crew members have been safely evacuated. dontpanik, July 2, 2007 in What Ever Happened To..??? He hit the bottom, got back up, side of the fault and was swallowed by the sea forever.. Yiannis Avranas (born ca. 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. What happened to the captain and crew of the Oceanos? The sewage and water systems had their one way "check valves" removed and not replaced. 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 some people like to stay, they can stay.". In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab sets off to hunt the whale, leaving the capable Starbuck in charge. It is generally a sequence of events, things that line up in a bad way that ultimately create that incident., READ MORE: 5 Maritime Disasters You Might Not Know About. 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. It is believed[by whom?] About 2:00 p.m., the Oceanos begins its vertical descent. Is there confession in the Armenian Church? Midday, the sea spills over the bow of Oceanos. 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. Jean Laborde went through many different owners and name changes (Jean Laborde, Mykinai, Ancona, Eastern Princess) in the succeeding decades. It is this forward section of the wreck that incurred the wrath of the ocean floor as the bow slammed into the seabed. 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. "Abandon is for everybody. Barry and Paul were on closed-circuit rebreathers, a Buddy Inspiration rebreather, and a CIS-Lunar MK5P rebreather, respectively. At sea, there's no question about who's in charge, so there's no doubt who is responsible for safety. The moment was immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as the "Birkenhead drill." The notorious master of the vessel was Captain Yiannis Avranas. I saw Captain Smith getting excited; passengers would not have noticed, but I did, May Sloan, a surviving Titanic stewardess, wrote in a letter shortly after the disaster. Smith was back in the news in 1940, when a letter in Life magazine suggested that the captain had ended his days as an elderly derelict in Lima, Ohio, known as Silent Smith. Among the evidence: The man had arrived in town three years after the Titanic disaster, would only give his name as Smith, was about Smiths age and size, and bore the sort of tattoos common among seafarers. "If you are leader, you have responsibility for your people, they put their lives in your hands.". 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. For the mythological figure, see, "Owner of Lost Greek Cruise Ship Has History of Maritime Mishaps", "A Captain's Tale: 'The Rescue Was Perfect Everybody Is Safe', "Oceanos Captain Insisted On Early Rescue, Diver Says", "The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner", "Hero plays music to calm terrified passengers", "South Africa probes cause of luxury liner's sinking", "The inimitable Alvon Collison, the wind beneath our wings", "Must a captain be the last one off a sinking ship? 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Schettino also didnt immediately alert the Italian Search and Rescue Authority about the accident. [9], A Greek board of inquiry found Avranas and four officers negligent in their handling of the disaster. International standards for sea captains vary. Open an account with Rebellion Research now and manage your assets intelligently. Arriving at the dive site, the team was amazed by the conditions. Francesco Schettino, were charged with various crimes. They accused the crew and the captain, but if there werent good moves with so much inconvenience and so much wave who would be saved? Sunk by uncontrolled flooding on 4 August 1991 off the coast of South Africa. that after a series of freak waves slammed against the ship, the pipe's shell plating burst open and began filling the compartment with seawater. He wanted to see where they were taking the crew to land. Fourth Officer Joseph G. Boxhall made a quick inspection of the ship and returned to the bridge to report that he had found no damage. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived . The weather forecast was predicting a strong northeasterly wind by morning, a factor that could easily mean the end of the expedition. They began launching the remaining lifeboats, with up to 90 people in each, but were unable to start their engines. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. The good news was that the current had weakened substantially, so the dive was postponed in the hope that conditions would improve later in the day. The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, slammed into a reef on Friday, after Schettino made an unauthorized maneuver. Royer, however, died after suffering a head injury when he finally left the ship. What happened to the Italian cruise ship captain? The decision was to be his last as captain of the Oceanos. After an hour of waiting, he said he saw Smith coming, approached him, and asked him how we was. At 12:05 a.m. Smith gave orders to uncover the lifeboats and alert the passengers. Oceanos was briefly featured in the 1985 film Sky High and with another Epirotiki ship, Apollon XI, in the 1986 film Hardbodies 2. NAVY DIVER SAYS OCEANOS CAPTAIN DEMANDED TO BE ONE OF FIRST RESCUED. In its investigative report on the 2012 disaster, Italys Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports found that the Concordia was sailing too close to the coastline, in a poorly lit shore areaat an unsafe distance at night time and at high speed (15.5 kts)., In his trial, Captain Schettino blamed the shipwreck on Helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin, who he claimed reacted incorrectly to his order; and argued that if the helmsman had reacted correctly and quickly, the ship wouldnt have wrecked. Havent you forgotten, sir, that all those glass windows are closed? a passenger gently reminded him. [5] They used the radio phone to broadcast a mayday distress call until Moss received a response.[7]. Rescue helicopters began arriving three hours later, and winched passengers and remaining crew to safety, with Hills continuing in charge of the orderly evacuation. The nearest, RMS Carpathia, replied that it would change course and hurry to the Titanics position. ", First published on January 19, 2012 / 3:02 PM. 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.
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