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. I would avoid any cruise that involves a Greek ship! I have made a mess and practically the whole ship is flooding, Schettino told Ferrarini while the ship was sinking. The function of a rebreather is to re-circulate the unused oxygen in the exhaled breath whilst scrubbing it of all traces of carbon dioxide. The ship ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. While the ship could have stayed afloat with up to four flooded compartments, depending on their location, five tipped into catastrophic territory. Will this discovery change our understanding of Titanic's final moments? The last charge carries a potential sentence of 12 years in prison. "It is my responsibility. After evacuating, the 105 meter long ship began to sink. ":rolleyes: I don't know what ever happened to him. Oceanos was very poorly maintained while simultaneously operating in one of the most dangerous and rough areas of the oceans. The current on the surface was running reverse, and there was no sign of the dreaded Northeaster. 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. Lee Jun-Seok, who was one of the first to flee from the ferry as it sank on Wednesday. [16] A South African Navy Diver testified that the captain had insisted on being taken ashore by the first helicopter. On August 7, a news report emerged with the title: Battle for the critical hours . 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. 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. 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. In a matter of minutes, the occupants returned with a very favorable report on conditions. Although Barry, Paul, and Brett would dive to the Oceanos as a team, they were all on different equipment. It was an event that ended with the sinking of a family cruise shi. 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.. Usually, there would have been a "sail-away" party on deck with the ship's musicians and British . 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. "If you are leader, you have responsibility for your people, they put their lives in your hands.". What happened to the Italian cruise ship captain? [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. The wind was still blowing, and large swells were visible on the horizon. It had also had several sewerage-holding tank non-return valves stripped for repairs following problems with bilge water rising through showers and toilets on a recent trip to Mozambique. 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. Is there confession in the Armenian Church? Fleeing in a lifeboat, they were told by the captain of a rescue ship to go back and help their passengers. [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. 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). The Costa Concordia was owned by Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of Carnival . Technicians pass in a small boat near the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia lying aground in front of the Isola del Giglio on January 26, 2012 after hitting underwater rocks on January 13.  Former captain of the Costa Concordia Francesco Schettino speaks with reporters after being aboard the ship with the team of experts inspecting the wreck on February 27, 2014 in Isola del Giglio, Italy. 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. And on the boat what could he do in addition., The circumstances were tragic and my responsibility was more than great. The ships engineer reported to Captain Yiannis Avranias that water was entering the hull and flooding the generator room. But is it realistic to expect skippers only human after all to suppress their survival instinct amid the horror of a maritime disaster? Smiths final moments arent definitively known, but reports varied widely. A Greek board of inquiry found Avranas and four officers negligent in their handling of the disaster. According to Boltman, "later in the morning, Captain Avarnasi [sic] even contacted me from shore to ask how things were going. On schedule, the shallow-water backup team left the boat and descended toward the decompressing divers. The captain went up to the third of these. 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. 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. 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. REBELLION RESEARCH ADVISORS, L.P. IS A REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISER AND NOT FOR PROFIT EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH THINK TANK. 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 unethical, unprofessional prick are working as a Captain of a ferry in Greece. Is the Oceanos still at the bottom of the ocean? 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. He was 46 years old. 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. When the team arrived at the wreck marker buoys, it was evident that the current was almost non-existent and the wind and swell had all but disappeared. On August 3, 1991, Oceanos set sail for East London, South Africa and headed north for Durban, led by Captain Yiannis Avranas. "[5] Hills reportedly rescued Avranas' dog and released his canary. ", First published on January 19, 2012 / 3:02 PM. But witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the Titanic just moments . [5][23][24], The Oceanos wreck lies at a depth of between 92m (302ft) and 97m (318ft), about 5km (3.1mi) offshore. Smith, who evacuated the ship women and children first until there were no lifeboats left, and then perished with it. [3] Entertainment manager Robin Boltman was credited with gathering the passengers in the lounge and playing music to calm them. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [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". MACHINE LEARNING INVESTING IS SPECULATIVE BY NATURE. In 2022, Moss Hills who later became a cruise director was interviewed by Jane Garvey for BBC Radio 4's series Life Changing. In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab sets off to hunt the whale, leaving the capable Starbuck in charge. The ship started taking on water, rapidly flooding the engine room. I knew then we were soon going.. Creating equal decompression profiles for the two systems was a difficult task for Barry that took many hours of calculation. Whether or not Captain Francesco Schettino was trying to impress his girlfriend is debatable. Through the confusion,the captain somehow made it into a lifeboat before everyone else had made it off. EAST LONDON, South Africa . [3] He was quoted soon after the sinking as saying, "When I order abandon the ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. Two more were added to these later. The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, slammed into a reef on Friday, after Schettino made an unauthorized maneuver. Being one of the worlds most difficult wrecks to reach and successfully dive, the Oceanos offers great rewards for technical divers at the top of their game. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. The divers had penetrated 70m into the wreck with the aid of the scooters. On 3 August 1991, the Oceanos set out from East London, South Africa and headed to Durban. 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. Family members of passengers on a South Korean ferry that sank look at lists of survivors on Wednesday. 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. Before the sailing they were given for inspection. The MV Oceanos was a 153 meter passenger ship, built in 1952 and designed to carry 550 passengers and 250 crew. I wouldnt recommend this wreck to anyone but the best technical divers who really know what theyre doing.. [25], "Oceanos" redirects here. Authorities isolated officers and sailors at a hotel. Two small ships in the vicinity were first on the scene, and provided the ship's coordinates to the South African authorities. On open-circuit scuba, the exhaled breath is not fed back into the system but is expelled and is no longer useable. He and fellow entertainer Julian Butler[8] directed the efforts of the entertainment staff - including Robin Boltman - to assist them. Jim Staples, a captain for 20 years, who spoke Wednesday from a 1,000-foot cargo vessel he was captaining near New Orleans, said captains are duty-bound to stay with the ship until the situation is hopeless. 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). 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. The first engineer along with some of the engine room got on a boat and left. "It comes from the tradition that the captain has ultimate responsibility and should put the care of others ahead of his own well-being in the discharge of his duties," says David Winkler, program director with the Naval Historical Foundation. The rescue featured in episode 4 of Shockwave, first aired 21 December 2007. The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. This is an amazing story -- if they're doing a new story maybe something new has happened -- like maybe the captain will finally be . "Abandon is for everybody. Employer. Within eight minutes I closed the waterproof doors. Smith also checked in periodically with the wireless operators until, at about 2 a.m., he released them from duty and told them to try to save themselves. [5][6] Thirteen of the sixteen were South African Air Force Pumas, nine of which hoisted 225 passengers off the deck. Just before he boarded a train to Washington, Pryal reported, the man smiled at him and said, Be good, shipmate, until we meet again., There is no possibility I am mistaken. Pryal told a reporter. Being one of the worlds most difficult wrecks to reach and successfully dive, the Oceanos offers great rewards for technical divers at the top of their game. In 1976, she was acquired by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and registered under the name of Oceanos.[2]. He had set sail for a sandy area at four miles, which he had found on the map. "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. He said he supervised the . The notorious Master of the vessel was Captain Yiannis Avranas. 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. That was one of several incidents that have led some historians to question whether Smith had gone into a state of shock. Heres some good live video when it happened!!! What happened to the captain of the Oceanos? Lee Jun-Seok, who was one of the first to flee from the ferry as it sank on Wednesday. He had apparently confused the Titanics partially enclosed promenade deck with the totally open one of her sister ship, Olympic, which he had previously commanded. 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. IIRC his response to being in a life boat was, "he was oraganizing the rescue effort! I never saw the captain among us helping, he says.. 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. ", Report: Captain claims he "tripped" into lifeboat. [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. "A lot of this is candidly still more lore than law," says Miller Shealy, a maritime law professor at the Charleston School of Law. Open an account with Rebellion Research now and manage your assets intelligently. But whatever relief Smith might have felt at that moment was quickly shattered. Various factors affect the flow rate of the current including pressure systems, the position of flow, coastal-trapped waves, and wind. Francesco Schettino had handed himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome after the verdict, his lawyer said. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991. 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 . It remains so potent because of the almost mythic authority invested in ship captains, Allen suggests. We meet him in Piraeus, where he lives after his retirement. The most famous, perhaps, is the captain of the Titanic, E.J. 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. 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. Making things worse, the crew had dropped the anchor incorrectly, causing the ship to flop over even more dramatically. If some people like to stay, they can stay. Powered by Invision Community. 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. 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. The team retired for the night, hoping that conditions would improve. After the required decompression runtimes, the divers surfaced, and the team returned to shore. The helicopter was used to survey conditions around the wreck that lies at a distance of 9.5km from Hole in the Wall. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when it suffered uncontrolled flooding.MTS Oceanos. 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. 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. [20][21], Dateline NBC aired a documentary of the incident on 23 May 2010. 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. 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. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger crash-landed a flight in the Hudson River in 2009, he twice walked the plane to make sure no one was left onboard before leaving himself. Everyone on board the cruise ship Oceanos was safe and accounted for Monday, but survivors angrily accused the . The World witnessed an ugly scene back on 03 August 1991 when MTS Oceanos sunk in 1991 because of uncontrolled floods. Family members of passengers on a South Korean ferry that sank look at lists of survivors on Wednesday. If some people like to stay, they can stay.". 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. Blowing in the same direction as the current, a strong northeasterly wind would slowly increase the rate of flow beyond that conducive for diving. 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. I would avoid any cruise that involves a Greek ship! Outwardly, Smith seems to have kept up a brave front, appearing captain-like to the last, at least to most observers. Most have heard the story, the sinking of the OCEANOS with 571 passengers and crew on board, none of whom suffered . All 571 passengers and crew survived. The international and some Greek media condemned the attitude of Captain Yiannis Avranas. On 3 August 1991, the Oceanos - initially delayed due to a bomb threat - set out from East London, South Africa and headed for Durban.Captain Yiannis Avranas (born ca. Now he was about to preside over one of the worst sea disasters of all time. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. It has been reported that the ship was in a state of neglected maintenance with loose hull plates and an unfitted ventilation pipe. Other information if you google or youtube it. 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 . 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. "[16][19] In 1992, he and five other officers were convicted of negligence by a Greek board of inquiry for fleeing the ship without helping the passengers. Barry and Paul were on closed-circuit rebreathers, a Buddy Inspiration rebreather, and a CIS-Lunar MK5P rebreather, respectively. 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. Among the crew, however, some tried to save themselves first. 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. August 3, 1991: An explosion shakes the engine room of the Greek cruise ship, Oceanos, as it sails off the South African coast. [5] They used the radio phone to broadcast a mayday distress call until Moss received a response.[7]. [14] He was never incarcerated and Epirotiki gave him command of a ferry until his retirement. "I can't lift my face before the passengers and family members of those missing," Lee told reporters. [4] Boltman told a newspaper: "Later in the morning, Captain Avarnasi (sic) even contacted me from shore to ask how things were going. At six in the morning the helicopters appeared. What happened to the Italian cruise ship captain? He in consultation with the international federation fled Nikolaou to Greece. Many famous naval disasters happen far out at sea, but on January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia wrecked just off the coast of an Italian island in relatively shallow water. [2] Usually, there would have been a "sail-away" party on deck. "Some people panic, but a short time later they collect their senses and do the right thing," Allen said. Allen dismissed that idea, saying the captain's knowledge of his ship is crucial in an emergency. It was August 3, 1991 when Rosemary Roe saw the dishes slipping on the table during dinner. 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.