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The Greek government is not doing anything about the incident. He remains incarcerated in a prison just outside of Rome, where he is expected to stay until he is around 80 years old. Here's why and how the Oceanos sank off the Wild Coast - PressReader The notorious Master of the vessel was Captain Yiannis Avranas. At sea he had no kindness. Midday, the sea spills over the bow of Oceanos. What happened to the captain and crew of the Oceanos? At about 15:30 the following day, the Oceanos could hold her head up no longer and sank. In the British and American inquiries that followed, a more complicated picture emerged. Oceanos was briefly featured in the 1985 film Sky High and with another Epirotiki ship, Apollon XI, in the 1986 film Hardbodies 2. Schettino reportedly said he ended up in a life raft after he tripped and fell into the water. The international and some Greek media condemned the attitude of Captain Yiannis Avranas. 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. What is glucosamine and fish oil good for? What happened to the captain of the Oceanos? - AnswersAll There was no reply to either. 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. The Oceanos crew was referred to disciplinary inspection for withdrawal of diploma or grade, but they were all acquitted.. 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. Pryal was no ordinary crank, but a highly regarded local businessman who claimed to have been an officer aboard the White Star liner Majestic some 30 years before, when Smith was its captain. As water gushed into the ship and the three other crew members jumped overboard, Royer stayed in the wheelhouse to make a frantic mayday call and give the ship's position to the Coast Guard. The ship underwent several name changes, including Mykinai, Ancona, Eastern Princess, and finally, in 1976, under the . 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. I just watched national geografic program about the Oceanos tragedy. Making things worse, the crew had dropped the anchor incorrectly, causing the ship to flop over even more dramatically. The MV Oceanos was a 153m passenger ship, built in 1952 and designed to carry 550 passengers and 250 crew. On schedule, the shallow-water backup team left the boat and descended toward the decompressing divers. 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. From that point on, Smiths activities become more of a blur. "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. All the while, the wind and swell were steadily dropping and, at 12:30, the decision to dive was made. 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. Share; Posted May 23, 2010. The technology means that the rebreather diver uses significantly less gas, has reduced nitrogen uptake, and subsequently fewer decompression requirements. Meanwhile the extraction was completely broken, the engine room was filling water and tilting forward the ship. 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. In Greece the case was referred to the High Council of Maritime Accidents of the Ministry of Maritime. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! It was owned by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and chartered at the time by a South African company, TFC Tours. [citation needed] An inflatable had to be launched to rescue some passengers who panicked and jumped into the water. "[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. 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. Once the profiles were eventually worked out, all preparations were complete; it was time for the real thing. By Passengers remained ignorant of the events until they witnessed the first signs of flooding on the lower decks. The weather conditions became so severe that Avranas determined it best to abandon ship and hope for rescue from nearby vessels or helicopters. Diesel, emanating from the wreck for nearly 12 years, was visible around the marker buoy an indication that the entire water column lay still. 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. 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? And the second boat was only cooks. He wanted to see where they were taking the crew to land. The captain broadcasted a distress signal as he tried to steer the ship towards shore in order for rescuers to reach them. 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. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. He speaks five foreign languages, originally from Kasos, but was born in Egypt. The unethical, unprofessional prick are working as a Captain of a ferry in Greece. / Updated May 22, 2010 / 12:42 PM PDT 20 PHOTOS . I am on business., Pryal said he trailed Smith to a train station. Bill Wright, senior vice president of Marine Operations for the Royal Caribbean International cruise line. (Schettino insisted the ship sailed close to shore to salute other mariners and give passengers a good view.) Others respect it as "an unwritten rule or law of the sea," said Capt. 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 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. 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. There were 200 sailors on the ship as crew members. 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. [25], "Oceanos" redirects here. The Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. 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? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The bridge section, however, appeared to have collapsed, leaving a field of debris on the sand below. Before the sailing they were given for inspection. Something strong wind, something the helicopter pilot, they didnt let me down he said. What Was the Titanics Captain Doing While the Ship Sank. Once complete, the team focused on preparing for the dives. I wouldnt recommend this wreck to anyone but the best technical divers who really know what theyre doing.. About 2:00 p.m., the Oceanos begins its vertical descent. It was also around 12:45 a.m. that crewmen lowered the first of the Titanics lifeboats to the ocean surface. None of the 571 passengers drowned. / AP. TRY ASKING HOST DOUGhe usually knows those things. I just watched national geografic program about the Oceanos tragedy. The first meet was a pool session where, for the first time in an underwater environment, the divers had a chance to meet all the team members and familiarize themselves with each others equipment. The Story Of The Oceanos - YouTube WATCH: Full episodes of When Big Things Go Wrong online now. 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. 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. Barry, Brett, and Paul disappeared below the surface. With hundreds of people on board, the ship springs a leak, then . Smith now knew the Titanic was doomed. The sinking is the subject of a song called "Oceanos" by Celtic rock band Coast. "The captain called the men to attention," says William Fowler, a maritime historian at Northeastern University. Physical and psychological training, descent strategies, bottom times, gas mixes, decompression profiles, equipment, and logistical planning; all these considerations had to be finalized before the team arrived on location at the Hole in the Wall hotel, where supportive technical diving and medical infrastructures do not exist. I knew then we were soon going.. : "Go back on board!". The crew called him a secretary. This is an amazing story -- if they're doing a new story maybe something new has happened -- like maybe the captain will finally be . The ship they spotted in the distance didnt answer, but several others did. 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. 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. 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. He would attempt to sit there. Very well, Pryal, the man supposedly answered, but please dont detain me. Photographs, some taken by survivors, document the cruise ship sinking off Southern Africa's eastern coast in August 1991. [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. 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 lot of this is candidly still more lore than law," says Miller Shealy, a maritime law professor at the Charleston School of Law. "If you are leader, you have responsibility for your people, they put their lives in your hands.". It was as if the Wild Coast had been tranquilized by a hunters dart. Smiths final moments arent definitively known, but reports varied widely. [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. 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. At this stage, eyewitness accounts reveal that many of the crew, including Captain Avranas, were already packed and ready to depart. The ships were used on the Marseilles Madagascar Mauritius service. He said he supervised the . Captain Accused of Leaving Passengers on Sinking Ship More than 4,200 people were rescued, though 32 people died. 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. The expedition required diligent and intense preparation. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when it suffered uncontrolled flooding.MTS Oceanos. 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. They began launching the remaining lifeboats, with up to 90 people in each, but were unable to start their engines. The MV Oceanos was a 153 meter passenger ship, built in 1952 and designed to carry 550 passengers and 250 crew. What happened to the crew and captain? Some early newspaper reports, allegedly supported by eyewitnesses, say he had shot himself with a pistol, though few historians give them any credence. Some consider them to be dangerous deviations from planned routes. A more recent example is Robert Royer, the captain of a fishing vessel that sank off Alaska in 2010. Within eight minutes I closed the waterproof doors. "His duty as the highest authority available short of God himself was to make sure his crew was safe before he left the ship," says Craig Symonds, a retired Naval Academy historian. BE SURE TO FIRST CONSULT WITH A QUALIFIED FINANCIAL ADVISER, TAX PROFESSIONAL, OR ATTORNEY BEFORE IMPLEMENTING ANY STRATEGY OR RECOMMENDATION DISCUSSED HEREIN. Oceanos was very poorly maintained while simultaneously operating in one of the most dangerous and rough areas of the oceans. Brett and Paul penetrated the portside corridor behind the on-deck pool while Barry singularly explored the large dining hall area. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He and fellow entertainer Julian Butler[8] directed the efforts of the entertainment staff - including Robin Boltman - to assist them. It remains so potent because of the almost mythic authority invested in ship captains, Allen suggests. In 1991, Capt. "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. 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). I never saw the captain among us helping, he says.. In 1965, the captain and several other crew members were among the first to abandon ship after the Yarmouth Castle caught fire and started sinking off the Bahamas, killing 90. Maritime law - DW - 01/19/2012 The Costa Concordia Disaster: How Human Error Made It Worse - History Aug. 6, 1991 12 AM PT. This window period, although based on unscientific information provided by maritime vessels in the area, falls in May and December. The British inquiry essentially exonerated him, saying he did nothing other captains wouldnt have done. Michael O Mahoney, a passenger remembers at least 30 crew members got on the first boat, while the captain left on a helicopter while passengers were still on deck. [10][11] Among the entertainers onboard was the South African cabaret performer, Alvon Collison,[12][13] who later reported that he had begun singing an impromptu repertoire as the ship was sinking, in an effort to keep the passengers' spirits up. 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. [9][11][16][17] Avranas's emergency management was again widely cited after the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012. [1] He was married to British national Davina Avrana.[3]. Top 10 Disgraced Captains Who Abandoned Ship - Listverse At first it appeared as if Smiths luck was going to hold. 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. He immediately ordered an evacuation of all passengers and crew. "But that would come after the ship has been evacuated," he added. Blowing in the same direction as the current, a strong northeasterly wind would slowly increase the rate of flow beyond that conducive for diving. [22] The show Extreme Weather: The Survivors featured a segment on the sinking. 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. But witnesses said he appeared on the bridge of the Titanic just moments later, asking what the storied ship, making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, had struck. 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. Francesco Schettino had handed himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome after the verdict, his lawyer said. It was August 3, 1991 when Rosemary Roe saw the dishes slipping on the table during dinner. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. This day turned out much better than expected. After ramming into the sea floor, the Oceanos slipped silently beneath the waves. With holes in its walls, loose hull plates, and missing parts that control the flow of water, it looked pretty neglected. [citation needed]. Her bow hit the sand 92m below the surface, while more than 60m of her stern remained aloft; minutes later, she was gone. Schettino argued that he fell into a lifeboat because of how the ship was listing to one side, but this argument proved unconvincing. The ship reportedly headed into 40-knot winds and 30-foot swells, and thus the typical sail-away outdoor deck party with British entertainers Moss and Tracy Hills was moved to an indoor lounge. If some people like to stay, they can stay.". 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. 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. 1940) had been an officer for twenty years and a seaman for thirty. Other information if you google or youtube it. That was one of several incidents that have led some historians to question whether Smith had gone into a state of shock. He didnt give up though. 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. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness. The ship was left adrift. 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. 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. After rescuing passengers and crew followed by interrogations in Durban, South Africa. 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. 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? Authorities isolated officers and sailors at a hotel. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. As soon as we reached seven degrees, we decided to lower the boats and start evacuation. 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. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. After that, three preparative dives were conducted, including a complete simulation dive on the Griqualand, which lies at 50m, where gas exchanges and emergency procedures were rehearsed. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived . Its captain was accused of manslaughter and abandoning the 4,200 passengers and crew on the night of the wreck. He says he lowered the switches, stopped the power generators and the ships engines. The most famous, perhaps, is the captain of the Titanic, E.J. [2] Photographs taken in 2002 show that the bridge section has collapsed. For example, three months after the Titanic disaster, in July 1912, a Baltimore man named Peter Pryal reported seeing Smith on the streets of that city.