Making the most of the break, the team took some time out from the daily diving routine to explore the remarkable area with its beautiful landscapes and majestic sea views. Ship Captain. "It's a matter of honor that the master is the last to leave. He said he supervised the . At first it appeared as if Smiths luck was going to hold. 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. 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. Barry and Paul were on closed-circuit rebreathers, a Buddy Inspiration rebreather, and a CIS-Lunar MK5P rebreather, respectively. None of the 571 passengers drowned. UK Retailer Simply Scuba Goes Into Administration For Good This Time, Dive Curaao Launches New All-In-One Vacation Platform. "Shoreside rescue people can do all the shoreside coordination efforts needed," he said. Then 15 minutes later, the bubbles returned, and there was a sigh of relief. 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. [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. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived, but Captain Yiannis Avranas and other officers left the ship while some passengers were still on board. Smith was at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. 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. "[12][13], Captain Alevizos Klaudatos, head of Epirotiki Line, was quoted in The Star as saying: "Of course the crew members assigned to the boats have to enter first in order to assist the embarkation of the passengers", "as regards the captain abandoning the vessel, this is untrue and he has maintained his position throughout in assisting the rescue in the most effective way". Barry Coleman and the team have accomplished is an amazing feat they have succeeded in conducting two fully controlled dives on the Oceanos. Think of Bligh, or Queeg, or the autocratic captains who drive many of the novels and stories of Herman Melville. They understood their roles and contributed to the success of this dive. 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. All considered, said Canadian-American fellow team member and cave diving world record holder Paul Heinerth, the Oceanos is probably one of the most, if not the most difficult wreck in the world to dive. The difficulties of diving on the Oceanos are extreme, but with commitment and proper planning, the dive is not impossible. The ship was built in France and owned by a Greek cruise ship company. Coast Guard to capt. 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. Davina Avrana. Yonhap/EPA/Landov 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. By the next morning rescuers found Oceanos adrift just off Coffee Bay, on the Wild Coast. He wanted to see where they were taking the crew to land. In 1976, she was acquired by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and registered under the name of Oceanos.[2]. "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. After five days of staying at the hotel, the other Greek sailors with the assistance of the Greek consular authorities also escaped. The decision was to be his last as captain of the Oceanos. Some early newspaper reports, allegedly supported by eyewitnesses, say he had shot himself with a pistol, though few historians give them any credence. When they bail early, everything falls apart. In Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab sets off to hunt the whale, leaving the capable Starbuck in charge. With holes in its walls, loose hull plates, and missing parts that control the flow of water, it looked pretty neglected. 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. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Everyone who had been put into lifeboats was rescued by passing ships and remarkably no lives were lost. On August 3, 1991, Oceanos set sail for East London, South Africa and headed north for Durban, led by Captain Yiannis Avranas. 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. Technical diving is an exact science, and every member of the team performed their tasks with efficiency and focus. 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. "I can't lift my face before the passengers and family members of those missing," Lee told reporters. Updated: April 12, 2023 | Original: November 12, 2020. Four months later, on December 23, Rehan Bouwer, Steve Minne, Johan Swart, Ian Symington, and Nicko Brand returned to the Oceanos. 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.. Brodersen, 60, said he never had to deal with that kind of situation, but he has sometimes thought about his own limit, when his survival instinct would trump the hope of salvaging a doomed ship. The ship's captain, Yiannis Avranas, had 30 years' experience at sea. Others respect it as "an unwritten rule or law of the sea," said Capt. 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. "The captain called the men to attention," says William Fowler, a maritime historian at Northeastern University. A wide range of diverse considerations had to be taken care of, both personally and as a team. hide caption. Captain Yiannis Avranas told reporters in Durban that he did not desert the ship but left to coordinate rescue efforts from shore. He and fellow entertainer Julian Butler[8] directed the efforts of the entertainment staff - including Robin Boltman - to assist them. And the second boat was only cooks. [3] He was quoted soon after the sinking as saying, "When I order abandon the ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. 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. Barry Coleman was yelling, Its a good day to dive, I can feel it in my bones! Well, a good day it certainly was! Michigan Senator William Alden Smith, who chaired the Senate investigative committee, charged that Captain Smiths indifference to danger was one of the direct and contributing causes of this unnecessary tragedy., But the senator also gave him credit for his manly bearing and his tender solicitude for the safety of women and little children as well as his willingness to die.. The current on the surface was running reverse, and there was no sign of the dreaded Northeaster. Avranas was charged with misconduct after it was discovered that he and numerous crew members left the ship while the passengers remained behind. 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. [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. The reaction of the first engineer sabotaged the captains original plan. This day turned out much better than expected. The wind was still blowing, and large swells were visible on the horizon. 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. Seamen have expressed almost universal outrage at Capt. 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. "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. What Was the Titanics Captain Doing While the Ship Sank. Only entertainment staff, singers and waiters helped us later. "It is my responsibility. "He deeply regrets not being with his crew. NAVY DIVER SAYS OCEANOS CAPTAIN DEMANDED TO BE ONE OF FIRST RESCUED. [4] Boltman told a newspaper: "Later in the morning, Captain Avarnasi (sic) even contacted me from shore to ask how things were going. When his "death-glorious ship" sinks, Ahab mourns that he's been denied the "pride" of having gone down with her. At this stage, eyewitness accounts reveal that many of the crew, including Captain Avranas, were already packed and ready to depart. The crew said that likely saved their lives, because the ship's emergency beacon didn't work. If some people like to stay, they can stay. Outwardly, Smith seems to have kept up a brave front, appearing captain-like to the last, at least to most observers. [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. The 402 passengers and 179 crew members all survived . Must a captain be the last one off a sinking ship? [5] The generators were shut down because the rising water would have short circuited them. 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. 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. "Abandon is for everybody. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. 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. 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. I wouldnt recommend this wreck to anyone but the best technical divers who really know what theyre doing.. Diesel, emanating from the wreck for nearly 12 years, was visible around the marker buoy an indication that the entire water column lay still. Schettino reportedly said he ended up in a life raft after he tripped and fell into the water. 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? After Capt. 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. Its captain was accused of manslaughter and abandoning the 4,200 passengers and crew on the night of the wreck. 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. Two small ships in the vicinity were first on the scene, and provided the ship's coordinates to the South African authorities. "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. 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. 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. So began the worst night of Edward John Smiths otherwise charmed life. Brett and Paul penetrated the portside corridor behind the on-deck pool while Barry singularly explored the large dining hall area. 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. Still others believed he had made it to an overturned lifeboat but lost his grip, possibly when one of the Titanics immense funnels broke loose and crashed into the water nearby. The expedition required diligent and intense preparation. [2], At the time of the accident, Yiannis Avranas had been an officer for twenty years and a seaman for thirty. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, newspapers cast Smith as a hero, the brave captain who went down with his ship. / AP. 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. 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. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. I would know him even without his beard.. A 2:20 a.m., the last portion of the Titanic disappeared between the waves. Barry, Brett, and Paul disappeared below the surface. As soon as we reached seven degrees, we decided to lower the boats and start evacuation. By Philip G Van Rensburg. She headed into 40-knot (20m/s) winds and 9m (30ft) swells. 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. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Maritime experts say such manifestations of courage at sea far outnumber incidents in which captains saved themselves and left their passengers behind. MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. The weather conditions became so severe that Avranas determined it best to abandon ship and hope for rescue from nearby vessels or helicopters. At roughly midnight, Andrews reportedly told Smith the Titanic could last another 60 to 90 minutes. Francesco Schettino Sparks Outrage". 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. Once complete, the team focused on preparing for the dives. Nearby vessels responded to the ships SOS and were the first to assist. There is some film on YOUTUBE showing the sinking of the Oceanos. 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 Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people. The ship they spotted in the distance didnt answer, but several others did. I heard (former) Captain Avranas was stripped of his papers and sent to jailbut maybe his sentence was suspended??? The first engineer along with some of the engine room got on a boat and left. By 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. [4] The storm worsened, and at approximately 21:30 UTC+2, while off the Wild Coast of the Transkei, a muffled explosion was heard. In the time of need, however, the crew found that everything was useless. 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. Several of the ship's crew, notably Capt. Maritime experts said the tradition of a captain standing by his ship isn't established in international maritime law. Even before the journey started, the ship had already started to wear. After the sinking, Avranas attracted extensive media coverage, often being vilified and used as an example of poor professional behaviour while in command. I never saw the captain among us helping, he says.. Although Smith had ordered the boats uncovered some 40 minutes earlier, he didnt give the order to begin loading and lowering them until Second Officer Charles Lightoller reminded him by asking, Hadnt we better get the women and children into the boats, sir?. The captain still had some hope of averting total disaster. In last year's Star Trek Into Darkness, the bad guy taunts Captain Kirk by saying, "No ship should go down without her captain.". There were also 12 inflatable rescue media on the cruise ship. The cruise ship had sailed with seven beauforts. The captain of the Oceanos was alerted to the problem after receiving reports of water entering some of the cabins on board. 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. is University of Washington a good school. 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. Known for. What should I say to the media? To the port authorities I have said that we hada blackout. (Ferrarini was later convicted for contributing to the disaster by delaying rescue operations.). At 12:05 a.m. Smith gave orders to uncover the lifeboats and alert the passengers. Edward Smith went down with the Titanic, the notion that a captain must stay with his ship became part of folklore. But his or her responsibility extends to executing the evacuation plan that all passenger ships are required to have and practice. Why did the captain go down with the ship? Authorities isolated officers and sailors at a hotel. What happened to the captain of the Costa Concordia? But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! "[10], Captain Avranas received extensive media coverage as an example of unprofessional behaviour whilst in command. The rescue featured in episode 4 of Shockwave, first aired 21 December 2007. 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. Jean Laborde went through many different owners and name changes (Jean Laborde, Mykinai, Ancona, Eastern Princess) in the succeeding decades. 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. Soon after the collision, he and other officers saw what they believed to be the lights of a nearby ship. Meanwhile, he told the ships two wireless operators to get ready to transmit distress signals. What happened to the captain of the Oceanos? 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Reinforced when Capt. From mariners on ships plying the world's oceans, the answer is loud and clear: Aye. The image of a captain staying with a sinking vessel has recurred again and again, in literature and real life. 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. Meanwhile the extraction was completely broken, the engine room was filling water and tilting forward the ship. 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. Although Barry, Paul, and Brett would dive to the Oceanos as a team, they were all on different equipment. The Oceanos arrived in South Africa in 1991. Now he was about to preside over one of the worst sea disasters of all time. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. How did the Oceanos go into the sea? Regular drills ensure everyone knows what to do. On one occasion the 200-liter drum we used as a marker buoy was pulled down to 34m by the current. On open-circuit scuba, the exhaled breath is not fed back into the system but is expelled and is no longer useable. 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. ", "Costa Concordia Tragedy: Capt. Bubbles moved toward the stern and then back again to amidships. It was abject cowardice.". Several witnesses claimed to have seen him in the water. Although only three divers made it to the wreck, it was the role of each team member that made it possible. From Times Wire Services. Will this discovery change our understanding of Titanic's final moments? 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. The unfitted ventilation pipe was said to have left a 10cm hole in the watertight bulkhead between the generator and the sewerage tank. "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.". 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? 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. In more than 40 years at sea he had rarely been involved in an accident and never held accountable for one. I am the captain. The Greek government is not doing anything about the incident. Various factors affect the flow rate of the current including pressure systems, the position of flow, coastal-trapped waves, and wind. ", the captain of the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia. 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. 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. [7][failed verification] The South African Navy, along with the South African Air Force, launched a mission to airlift the passengers and crew to the nearby settlements of The Haven and Hole in the Wall, about .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}10km (5+12nmi) south of Coffee Bay. However, an Italian naval admiral testified in court that even though the helmsman was late in executing the captains orders, the crash wouldve happened anyway. (The helmsman was one of the four crew members convicted in court for contributing to the disaster. The helicopter was used to survey conditions around the wreck that lies at a distance of 9.5km from Hole in the Wall. "When I order abandon ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave," Avranas said. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Share; Posted May 23, 2010. The Oceanos lies at a depth between 92m and 97m, about 5km offshore, on the western edge of the mighty Agulhas current. On Sunday, the day before the first dive attempt, the gusty southwesterly wind blew. Follow her on Twitter at @MsBeckyLittle. Two more were added to these later. March 5, 2004. 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? 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. A South African navy diver said the captain of the sunken Greek liner Oceanos pushed past elderly pa. [9][11][16][17] Avranas's emergency management was again widely cited after the Costa Concordia disaster in 2012. The Oceanos crew was referred to disciplinary inspection for withdrawal of diploma or grade, but they were all acquitted.. Both literature and real life offer plenty of examples of shipmasters who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their passengers and crew. Realising the fate of the ship, the crew reportedly fled in panic, neglecting the standard procedure of closing the lower deck portholes. After rescuing passengers and crew followed by interrogations in Durban, South Africa. The notorious Master of the vessel was Captain Yiannis Avranas. 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. 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. There were 200 sailors on the ship as crew members. Smiths final moments arent definitively known, but reports varied widely. A captain and his crew needlessly endangered the lives of those on board. Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images [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. "I'm totally embarrassed by what he did," he said of Schettino. / Updated May 22, 2010 / 12:42 PM PDT 20 PHOTOS . I just watched national geografic program about the Oceanos tragedy.
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