Cruise ship evacuated off Greek island

[madforcruising]

Here´s a pic of the Sea Diamond where you can see the two life boats in the back and the speed boat in the front.

[xpcdoojk]

:eek: Having been to Santorini there is just no where to beach the ship in that area. The other side of the island does have some beachable points, but I imagine that the ship was not capable of cruising around to the other side after they evacuated everyone. So, the decision was obviously made to get everyone off as fast as possible and then it was too late to save the ship. It does sound as if the crew were not well trained or lead from the reports I have seen on TV, as many survivors are telling that the crew was telling them they were going to die, causing more panic, but who knows it is all hearsay and surmise.

 

jc

[TPKeller]

Also remember the passenger reports which stated there was water in the passenger cabin spaces almost immediately... The machinery spaces are almost always even lower than the lowest passenger spaces, so I would agree, it is likely that the main engines were out of commission almost immediately.

 

Interestingly though, there were pictures published that did show smoke coming from the stacks well into the evacuation, so they must have had power of some sort at least.

 

The seeming conflict of observable and reported facts is confusing to say the least.

 

Theron

[pcur]

I read in an online news story that the captain moved the ship closer to land even though it was taking on water. This was to make the evacuation easier. Then they moved the ship out further to sink, and the rest of the crew got off. Those are all the little orange life raft/tent things around it, I think.

 

That ship was so close to land that even I could have paddled around in a life jacket until someone picked me up, and I'm a terrible swimmer.

 

The water temp there isn't that cold, either.

 

All in all, I think the rescue efforts were good: only the poor man and his daughter died, and they were trapped in their cabin.

[madforcruising]

I read in an online news story that the captain moved the ship closer to land even though it was taking on water. This was to make the evacuation easier. Then they moved the ship out further to sink, and the rest of the crew got off. Those are all the little orange life raft/tent things around it, I think.

 

That ship was so close to land that even I could have paddled around in a life jacket until someone picked me up, and I'm a terrible swimmer.

 

The water temp there isn't that cold, either.

 

All in all, I think the rescue efforts were good: only the poor man and his daughter died, and they were trapped in their cabin.

 

 

It seems consistant through all news reports I´ve seen so far that the ship was moved as close to the port of Fira as possible.

 

However from the pics shown it looks to me that the ship sunk pretty much in the same place and quite close to the Island.

 

News reports over here also say that the underwater surface is very steep where the Sea Diamond sunk and she´s still sliding further down making it more and more difficult to reach her.

It´s already too deep and dangerous for divers to go down there (according to the news) and they are awaiting some sort of special submarine devices to go down there and evaluate a way to pump the oil out of the ship as that is the main concern right now. The leaking oil would do great harm to the ocean and Islands.

[fireguy091]

And if our Dubai poster cares to check, interested cruisers have also seen fit to post the same information on the Celebrity and Holland America boards and probably others I have not checked this morning. Matters of general interest such as this are not limited to just one cruise line - sorry:(

 

It wasn't the Dubai poster that made the wise crack...:rolleyes:

[fireguy091]

I heard on the news that the captain and several officers were arrested but I didn't hear why? Anyone else heard anything.

[madforcruising]

I heard on the news that the captain and several officers were arrested but I didn't hear why? Anyone else heard anything.

 

Very roughly and shortly said, because they put the ship on ground.;)

 

It was said they made some serious mistakes that caused all this.

 

According to the news they are free again but not allowed to leave the country until investigations are finished. The Captain also took responsibillity in a hearing.

 

There´s also a thread with an article about this further down:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=532535

[Kevin's girl]

Attached (hopefully) is a photo of the inside of on of the lifeboats on the Serenade of the Seas. Each black spot on the seats represents a person. Very cramped, but seating for a whole lot of people.

[SurveyHand]

I think the captain has been charged with moving the vessel off the rocks, which may have hastened the speed with which it sank.

 

A passenger vessel can survive breaching of any two watertight compartments with the water level not rising above the margin line ( a line below the watertight bulkhead). Watertight doors have the same strength and watertight capabilities as the bulkhead in which they are placed.

 

What I don't understand is why would the housekeeper be charged, or any person other than the captain and mate who were on watch at the time.

[time4u2go]

So you saw on the news that the ship had the highest level of safety standards - and you believed that! Whose safety standards? The ship was registered in Greece, owned by a company from Cyprus, never comes to this country(therefore does not have to comply with any Coast Guard regulations).

Why would you think that Greek safety standards are any less than anywhere else?

[Sea Island Lady]

only the poor man and his daughter died, and they were trapped in their cabin.

Has this been confirmed? Have their bodies been discovered?

[madforcruising]

Has this been confirmed? Have their bodies been discovered?

 

No their bodies have not ben discovered yet to my knowing, but it´s highly unlikely they are still allive.

 

If, and that´s what it looks like, their bodies are trapped inside the ship they will probably never discovered.

[Sea Island Lady]

If they know what stateroom the two were in, can't they dive down to it and recover the bodies?

[madforcruising]

If they know what stateroom the two were in, can't they dive down to it and recover the bodies?

 

The water is quite deep where the Sea Diamond sunk and she is not only upside down but also not on an even surface but on a slope and still sliding down. It´s an unstable situation and too dangerous for divers.

 

Also even knowing what stateroom they´ve been in nobody knows if they are still there and I believe it´s not quite easy to dive a sunken ship.

 

While this might sound harsh, especially for the family of the two, but I think the life of the divers shouldn´t be risked to discover the bodies.

 

In addition I believe right now the authorities deal primarily with the risks of environmental damage from the oil onboard then on getting the bodies of those poor souls.

[xpcdoojk]

SIL, long time no see. :D Have you ever read about scuba diving? Diving at great depth is very dangerous, and it is very difficult. If the ship is still sliding down to even greater depths entering into a giant cruiseship is an overwhelmingly dangerous and suicidal task. My guess is that it is probably deeper than is even technically possible.

 

jc

 

Here is an article by DAN (which is the medical support site for scuba diving)

 

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=29

[Sea Island Lady]

madforcruising and xpcdoojk - Thank you for the explanations. I understand what you are saying and didn't realize a lot of it:o , but it is still so sad. :(

[Madkitty]

puts it all in perspective now - 110,000 AOS next to 20,000 ton Pullmantur baby http://www.bexpics.fotopic.net/p36659025.html

[true salt]

Attached (hopefully) is a photo of the inside of on of the lifeboats on the Serenade of the Seas. Each black spot on the seats represents a person. Very cramped' date=' but seating for a whole lot of people.[/quote']

 

As someone else said, the capacity of the lifeboat is painted on the side. As a point of interest, the maximum a lifeboat can be rated for according to SOLAS is 150 people, inclusing the lifeboat's crew.

[true salt]

So you saw on the news that the ship had the highest level of safety standards - and you believed that! Whose safety standards? The ship was registered in Greece, owned by a company from Cyprus, never comes to this country(therefore does not have to comply with any Coast Guard regulations). It had 4 lifeboats - 2 on each side - which they did manage to get in the water;the rest of the ship's equipment consisted of inflatable life rafts which are visible in many of the pictures.

Pure speculation on my part, but the water tight doors were either breached or inoperative or the gash was so huge that nothing could have prevented taking on sufficient water to eventually sink the ship. How absolutely fortunate that all but two people were safely evacuated. And I just read the captain had just recently been promoted - bet his career is going to be on the same rocks he ran his ship over!

 

 

Did you know that during a port state control safety inspection 3 years ago that the watertight doors on this ship were found to be inoperative??? This is a FACT

[Mark]

Wow, not only is Sea Diamond one of the ugliest floating objects I have ever seen to be referred to as a cruise ship...now we hear that Sea Diamond has a documented history of faulty watertight doors...wonder if it is due to poor installation / design or lack of maintenance or both?:cool:

[Grumm]

The unfortunate ship sank between Scylla and Charibdis-see ancient Greek mythology or lyrics by Sting to explain! Horrible accident as some people died. If you sail to Santorini, you will see that the entrance to the waters is very narrow. Thoughts and sympathy to the families affected.....PLEASE don't think this a harsh comment, but I can't help wondering if the collective consciounesses of the poor animals who have to drag fat, lazy tourists up the hill to the town didn't cause the sinking.

 

Alan (Protecting the poor asses of Santorini against the FAT asses of tourists)!:mad:

[Lisichka]

 

What I don't understand is why would the housekeeper be charged, or any person other than the captain and mate who were on watch at the time.

 

I read in a news article that they were charged because they failed to notify passengers and make sure they had all left the cabins (as stated they must do in their contracts). They in fact left ship before the passengers.

[xpcdoojk]

You gotta be kidding. :rolleyes:

 

The things people will lead a crusade on are amusing and scary.:rolleyes:

 

jc

[Grumm]

You gotta be kidding. :rolleyes:

 

The things people will lead a crusade on are amusing and scary.:rolleyes:

 

jc

 

No crusade...have you SEEN the way the donkeys and mules are treated in Santorini? Somehow I doubt it, otherwise you would understand my point.

 

If you ever sail the Mustard of the Seas, don't come to me with any squirrels requiring adjustment.:o

 

PS If you need the last sentence explained, you officially don't get it!

 

Alan CCC, MOS