The Sinking of the Oceanos | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror
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- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- Once a year, around the holidays, I want to share the story of a disaster that didn't happen - a tragedy that, whether through luck, the bravery of those involved, or simple good planning, was averted. In this story, everyone survives... although it's definitely a close call!
As always, THANK YOU to all my Patreon patrons: you make this channel possible.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Background
01:43 - The Sinking of the Oceanos
09:13 - The Aftermath
MUSIC:
► "Glass Pond" by Public Memory
SOURCES:
► "The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner" by Sarah McDermott, published by BBC News, April 2022. Link: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-afri...
► Oceanos Sinking website, by Moss Hills, published by Cruise Ship Sinking - The Oceanos. Link: www.oceanossinking.com/
► "A Captain's Tale: 'The Rescue WasPerfect - Everybody Is Safe'" by Barry James, published by The New York Times, August 1991. Available via: web.archive.org/web/200911082...
► "Life Changing: Mayday" published by BBC Radio 4, April 2022. Available via: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...
#Documentary #History #TrueStories
Happy holidays everyone! If you're in the mood for another story where (against all the odds) everyone survives, here's one from last year: czcams.com/video/Qo7JogjIyWs/video.html
I think you should make a playlist of these "near misses" where everyone survives the catastrophe. It would be a nice uplifting series.
Nice to hear a story of full survival, despite the increasing frequency of the cowardice of captains..
Air flight is soon to follow.
"Who's on the bridge with you?"
"It's me, my wife - the bass player, and we've got a magician here"
This is maybe one of the most amazing rescue call statements that has ever been said
“I’m not a rank.”
Honestly, big props to the captain on the other end for managing to overcome the immense mental inertia they must have faced trying to make sense of the call and pushing through to give an effective field lesson on how to use ship systems on a literally sinking ship to complete novices.
You can feel the other captains tone go from annoyance to horror as they realize this isn’t a prank, but a cruise ship that is sinking with no hands on deck but entertainers.
I could literally read the shock and amazement in the other ship captains face.
"Well, I'm not a 'rank'... I'm the Guitarist" I will fully admit I briefly laughed out loud. Glad everyone made it out alive.
@@anitralarae_mahjacat Yeah I felt bad at the time laughing about it since these don't normally end with 0 fatalities, but the fact that this event did made me feel a lot better about that lol
Moss Hills and the other entertainers should be hailed as heroes who went above and beyond to save the passengers in the absence of a largely uncaring and cowardly crew.
They are.
They were by the passengers and other countries leaders and a few shipping companies
Was nt he the sama guy in an other cruise ship sinking acouple of years before? Where he also helped
@@henrimichelpierreplana4332 he was on the Achille Lauro a couple years later!
@henrimichelpierreplana4332 actually it was a few years after the loss of the oceanous that he was given the command of another ship as the Greek court and South African courts took his license and captaining rights away
Im a First Officer on a ship, and what the captain did is 100% wrong. Once the passengers step onboard, we are responsible for their safety. Abandon ship is for everyone, thats true, but its passengers first, then non maritime crew, captain LAST!
The real meaning of the captain going down with the ship. Its not required, its that they are the last to depart, after all else in their care has been safely evacuated.
@@Goabnb94Of course. Captain Calamai was the last off of the Doria but reportedly only the senior offices refusing to leave the ship unless he did got the captain to leave.
He should be made to walk the plank
Not just 100% wrong Criminal negligence and cowardness The First duty of any captain is to assure the safety of his crew and passengers during an emergency Instead he decided to save his own skin..
But as I understand it - the abandon ship order was not given? It took an entertainer to discover senior personnel buggering off to find that anything was wrong in the first place. So not only did the captain fail to oversee the safety of his passengers, he didn't even ensure that the evacuation order was received.
Additionally, I would guess that no mayday call was made, given the apparent confusion of other vessels on the radio... His story of 'supervising the rescue' is irrelevant because there would be NO rescue had it not been for quick-thinking staff. Also, once the coastguard arrive, would the commanding officer not assume control, thus meaning the captain is not required in a supervisory capacity?
A story with no fatalities, and a rescue coordinated by the most unlikely set of heroes- the ships entertainers. It's shocking how the captain wasn't given any punishment for being a coward
I’d bet the lack of fatalities played a very large role in the Captain getting no legal punishment. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he was let go from the company as a result.
@@davidjacobson6791 I reckon I saw this story somewhere else and he was given command of a Ferry by the same company until he retired.
Sadly, being a coward isn’t considered a crime anymore.
You said it with your first sentence. Had several people died I'm guessing it would be different.
@@oldbloke204I guess I'm not surprised by that. I mean, who else would give him a job? "I see your last employment was as captain of the Oceanos. You must be the guy who stood around smoking while the entertainers organised a rescue. So, you seem qualified, when can you start?"
“I’m not a rank. I’m a guitarist.”
Words of a hero.
We might say... a guitar hero? :D
I'm biased as someone who's done lots of performing arts, but I feel like there may be a reason why several stories like this (captain wusses out, entertainers save people) have happened and appeared on channels like this. Performers make a discipline of staying on course (figuratively) when unexpected stressors occur, and I suspect that cognitive/emotional skill translates well to emergency response. Captains develop other skillsets, but someone who hasn't practiced this *specific* skill may find themselves unprepared when a high-stress emergency strikes. Just a conjecture, but it makes psychological sense to me
That captain facing no repercussions is infuriating. Most of the crew abandoning ship without informing the passengers is appalling. The entertainers helping to save everyone is amazing and truly heroic. Good on them for doing what allegedly properly trained sailors couldn't be bothered to do, beyond the few that actually remained behind.
Yeah, what's up with that?
Unbelievable that that captain and senior crew didn't face criminal charges. They just left everyone else behind to die without even warning them!!
This captain makes Edward J. Smith seem heroic.
Honestly, he probably only got away with a slap on the wrist because better men and women did his job and saved every person who was left on board the vessel. If even one person had died, he probably would have gotten a fine or jail time.
Not mentioned here is how Moss Hills survived another sinking, 3 years later. He was an entertainer on the Achille Laura, where he also saved lives when a fire broke out. For those interested, Bright Sun Films covered the Oceania and did an interview with Moss Hills
Oh wow that's incredible, hopefully he's managed to help spread his level-headed demeanor through his talks.
...I think I caught part of a long interview with him on NPR.
Cool guy.
I hope moss' pay rate went up alot ! He's apparently doing two roles at his gigs!
That’s absolutely insane 😮
I saw the Bright Sun Films video. Hills is just an incredible person. Sadly, the Achille Lauro incident was not a repeat of the Oceanos; there were some fatalities. It was really upsetting that Hills seemed to blame himself over the casualties when he'd once again gone above and beyond what could've been expected. He just seems like the kind of individual who really cares for others very deeply. Hell of a guy.
Moss Hills is a true hero unlike that cowardly excuse of a captain truly despicable abandoning his ship like that
The insane thing is, it’s not even the only time Moss Hills was a hero on a ship in peril. That also happened on the Achille Lauro, only that time the crew was also actually doing their jobs.
Moss Hills didn't read the fine print of his contract. He seems to have signed on as "Entertainer / First Officer."
Reminds me of the captain of the Yarmouth Castle, who fled his burning ship off Nassau (Bahamas). Many of the crew surrendered their own life jackets to passengers or tried to rescue them from portholes after they were cut off by fire.
was the captain's name trump ?
@@nopcshere6097 Likewise that prick of a so-called Captain onboard the Costa Concordia. Assholes.
Moss the singer on the other hand, well, let's just say not every hero wears a cape ...
Imagine being Lorraine Betts, cruise director, whose job is to manage entertainment and guest activities, and realizing you're technically the highest ranked person still aboard who's even remotely functional and there's hundreds of lives in your hands. I recognize her as the last captain of the Oceanos; I don't care that she wasn’t certified and didn't know jack about operating the ship. She and her staff did the job when the captain and his officers wouldn't; I don't think I could do what she did.
I also think it's a bit sad how downplayed she often is. Very few videos even mention her name.
"I don't think I could do what she did."
Her job was organizing people. That's got some cross- applicability, she worked it like a boss.
The Dateline special "Miracle on the Wild Coast" sits down and interviews her and most of the entertainment staff involved; it was really interesting (and a bit frightening, when she described the sheer ego of the captain on the day they first met; there were major red flags in his personality from the beginning, it sounds like).
For example, according to her, the captain requested that he be referred to as "God."
No joke.
It’s unbelievable that ordinary women and men with no training realized the grave danger the ship was in, called for help, organized the evacuation, helped the passengers keep calm, all while the trained, certified, and supposedly professional crew did jack squat, mostly concerned with saving their own hides. It’s chilling to think they would have left the ship to sink with hundreds of people on board. They didn’t even radio for help!
@@happycommuter3523 That last bit was the worst thing.
I'm basically trained to do first aid. The first priority is to get professional help on the way.
(If alone, prior to starting first aid/ cardiopulmonary resuscitation, because you're about to be too busy to call, and because they can instruct you on doing it right)
@happycommuter3523 In their defense, not every member of the crew left! According to Director Betts, some stayed. Unfortunately the ones who did were ordinary seamen and staff, who also didn't have the experience and knowledge to run the evacuation. From the way the entertainment staff describe things, it sounds like the remaining crew ended up supporting Director Betts and the entertainment staff, rather than the other way around.
The officers all left, though. And the captain only stayed aboard because the entertainment staff physically caught him and stopped him from sneaking off--several times. Eventually he just huddled on deck, unresponsive until rescue came, at which point he blended in with the passengers in the line to be rescued, leaving while many were still left aboard.
Can I go back to the time when I thought the Costa Concordia was the most anger-inducing shipwreck I knew about?
Honestly. Costa Concordia was bad. This is equal levels of rage at the captain and certain crew.
Costa and Sewol anger me more. People died while the captains fled. At least everyone survived here
At least, on the kind that concordia they notified the passengers and the Coast Guard that the ship was in danger
I see you haven't heard the story of Seewol.
The Sewol is still the worst for me. I hope this channel covers it some day. Captain not only abandoned ship but told hundreds of kids to stay where they are as the ship sank. Awful tragedy.
'The Hills, keen to keep everyone calm and happy despite the rough conditions, got on stage and played music for about an hour."
In other words, the Hills were alive with the sounds of music.
Bwahaha
Love it! 😂😂😂
Sterling comment.
Absolutely magnificent comment right here, premium stuff
...that was a terrible pun...and you should feel ashamed...take my thumbs up...
Its a shame that the captain never received any sufficient punishment for his actions
He was a pitiful coward
Of course he wasn't punished. That would require someone in *any* legal "system" *anywhere* to have the brains and the balls to actually do their damn jobs for once.
I think his remembered infamy is punishment enough.
@@erynlasgalen1949 He's Greek. I can promise you he's never once thought about this, because he wasn't affected.
@@erynlasgalen1949 That would be impossible.
A disaster story with no deaths..just perfect for Christmas. 😊 Wishing everyone reading this a happy Christmas and New Year ❤
Thank you. I hope you had a peaceful Christmas time as well
It’s a miracle too considering the weather they had to evacuate in.
Moss and Tracy. His wife was with him every step of the way.
I didn't even think about that but it is a lovely story of human survival and heroes. It is perfect for this Christmas season of brotherly love and Goodwill towards men. ❤
No thanks to the Greek crew. Well done South Africa on showing how it's done
That captain should've faced criminal charges IMO. Unreal
As well as having his license revoked and banned from the industry.
Agree!
@@treyblaze22 Well he could have gotten a new job as deck or waste scrubber...
The crew that stayed behind and helped all the people off the ship deserved to be recognized and rewarded by the cruiseliner co.
Unfortunately they won’t be
This isn’t a new story. This happened a long time ago.
@@neilkurzman4907They wrote their comment in past tense, so I think they know
The cruise business is fundamentally disgusting in almost every way. Including environmental.
that is counter to profits. no capitalist will willingly do that.
Interesting that the Captain used an excuse that was echoed many years later by Captain Scettino of the Costa Concordia. At least the latter went to prison for his incompetence and cowardice.
....co-ordinating a rescue he didn't even initiate. He must have literally either taken complete leave of his senses (an attitude you don't need in a captain), or thought 'fuck these guys, I'm off'. To not even call mayday on the radio before evacuating is probably evil.
At least there the Italian Coast Guard told him to get to his shop, that he was responsible.
The captain was just given the position to satisfy the paperwork, he was no leader.
The ship also had no chief engineer, to prevent the idiotic crew from opening a sluice valve up in bad weather.
The real criminals were the company chiefs who owned the vessel, but they hid behind their desks on land.
No ship can ever operate safely, when crew members wake up in the morning and think, "What shall we play with today".
@@wilsjane not sure how I feel about this reply. I agree in parts and yet disagree also. There's no account for duty here, but that's not dissimilar to the situation in the Bridge of the Costa Concordia.
@@joetaylor486 In the case of the Concordia, the captain was bombastic and self opinionated. In this case, he lacked leadership skills and self confidence, along with being incompetent to run a ship.
I wonder what would have happened if Moss and the other two never made their way to the bridge? It makes no sense that the captain and crew were still onboard away from the bridge, but didn't call for anyone to come to their rescue. What were they thinking? Just awful, and truly boggles the mind.
@generaleerelativity9524 What was going on? I looked up Mossad and apparently it's the Israel intelligence agency. What reason would they have for terrorizing a bunch of tourists on a cruise?
@@factorem9327The slander is another example of anti-Semitic propaganda that seeks to blame the Jewish people for all the world's bad events. People who hate the Jews accuse them of causing events like September 11, 2001 to "fabricating" their own holocaust in World War 2.
It is a blinding & disgusting hatred.
@@factorem9327 there was civil unrest in South Africa that was being sold on the world stage as the end of apartheid. Remember the whole Nelson Mandela thing? In reality it was the infiltration of their government by the UN council and the beginning of the anti-white movement in that region. Nothing is ever what it seems when the smallhats are involved. They do it in every country that they're not thrown out of.
@@factorem9327 Yeah this conspiracy theory makes no sense
Just for that alone he should have done jail time 😡
I followed this enquiry very closely as I had been on board the Oceanos on a previous voyage. She was a well-found vessel, old but still sturdy and it's a shame she was lost but a miracle no souls were. The Hills and their fellows along with the small number of crew who did their duty that night all deserve major awards, without them 100s would be dead. The captain and the senior officers should be in prison, IMHO.
The fact that the Oceanos took so long to finally sink despite (essentially) having an open wound letting sea water in tells me that she was indeed a very well-designed liner. She needed better maintenance, to be sure, but boy did she hang in their until the end! What a miracle...
Do you know if the captain ever worked again? If I was a ship owner, I certainly wouldn't entrust him with as much as a rubber ducky.
@@thurayya8905 He worked up until his retirement on smaller vessels, which seems mad, but that's life.
The entertainers really saved the day. It’s a miracle no one died especially given the storm. The captain and crew behaved like a bunch of selfish cowards.
I'm in such shock at the cowardice of the captain and senior crew, i don't even know what to say. Except that I'm happy everyone survived this horror thanks to the entertainers and despite the idiots.
Thats also my thinking... Maybe you have a bad captain, but the first officer, helmsman, chief engineer, safety officer, security officer... And there should have been even a doctor on board, aka chief medical officer. Why did they all do the same? And of all, even the doc? Someone who truly swore an oath to protect life?
Right? Did they really all manage to go through their entire time working aboard the Oceanos pre-accident without anyone flagging “hey, is it just me or do these officers seem a wee bit… lax? about safety? and the passengers?”
This captain was absolutely awful and didn't deserve another ship. He is a coward. Good morning FH and fans. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
Good Morning! Have a great day.
For real. A lying coward that seemed to have some arrogance as a cherry on top...
His quote was so shameful, alluding that people may want to stay after he says abandon ship. I can't believe he continued to work as a captain.
Moss Hills: hero of not one, but TWO sinking passenger cruise disasters. And if you hear him interviewed he’s the most modest, lovely guy. Absolute champion.
This is just wild. The entertainers are true heroes, but they should never have had to be. It’s unbelievable that everyone survived in SPITE of the captain and crews’ actions. That the captain faced no consequences and continued to work in the same capacity until his retirement is outrageous.
Yeah I agree. Total bulls**t.
thankfully despite the criminal negligence by the captain nobody died in this incident, bless the entertainers, they are true heroes.
You can always trust a musician....tho' some drummers are a bit dodgy ;
How in the hell are so many of these incompetent captains and officers allowed to still work in the industry? How are they not given some significant penalty??!
That is a very good question.
No regulations, no problems! Until they cause another disaster of course
I really wish I had an answer for you, my friend. It's beyond disgraceful.
Nepotism hiring and all that comes with it probably?
Greek shipping industry used to be the sloppiest in the world.
I know it's just a ship, and it's silly, but I can't help it, I've always felt bad for Oceanos. It was poorly treated its whole life but still held on and kept floating until every last soul was safely away before going under.
❤❤
Moss Hills was also the hero of the Achille Lauro, an Italian cruise ship which caught fire and sank.
He worked alongside the Lauro’s captain and senior officers to try and douse the flames, but to no avail.
Bright Sun Films did a video on the Achille Lauro which had Moss Hills describe his experience on the ship.
Bright Sun Films did a fantastic documentary on this disaster, including interviews with Moss Hills and others on board. It's well worth a watch.
That same doc introduced me to the song "Oceanos" by Coast.
It's a bloody miracle there were no casualties. Huge shame on the captain and the crew for chickening out before the passengers...
This story is incredible for both the absolute dereliction of duty of the crew and the absolute heroism of the entertainers. Also, can't forget the absolute miscarriage of justice that the captain who essentially attempted murder of over 500 people faced no real consequences.
The photo of the man being lifted to the helicopter with the rising sun while everyone is watching and waiting is a beautiful shot. The heroes of the Océanos deserve a movie made about all of them.
There is a doco by Bright Sun Films that does a good job of telling the story but yes, this would make an excellent film instead of the current crop of remakes we are blighted with.
⬆️ THIS ⬆️
Heh. No avoiding making the senior crew look actionably bad in such a flick...but yes, it'd make a great film, with the added spice that the heroes are mostly musicians, so the soundtrack would be fun...
@@stevetournay6103I say… If I’m ever hopeless on a sinking ship, I’m staying close to the band. They always seem to be the heroes and at least I’ll have music.
@@zuitsuit80 *🪕 🎶🎹🎺🎸🎻🎙🥁🎵* ☠
Amazing that the captain and crew avoided criminal charges for such cowardly and neglectful actions.
Some musicians and a magician being the heroes of a sinking ship is the kind of thing you'd expect out of a campy disaster movie. It's really heartening to see that despite how badly the evacuation was handled by the ship's command staff, nobody died.
Poor radio officer of the other vessel - what is your rank? I'm the guitarist, here with my wife, the bass player and a magician!!! Amazing amazing people. I can't believe the senior crew who left and captain did not have more consequences for their actions.
"O...k... I'm going to quickly train you..." *becomes more effective than the entire crew via one quick lesson over radio**
Well to ask for the rank is probably the formal way of asking "who the * are you?". And also, apparently it was the captain of the other vessel. After all, in such situations, it is the captains that should speak to each other and not the security officer or the cook.
I keep thinking the radio guy had to be going, "Who ARE these assclowns??" As it turns out, the guitarist, the bass player, and the magician... I'm sure he wondered WHY he'd wanted to know!
I can just imagine his brain absolutely breaking during that long pause before he started teaching them to find their location. He would have known better than them how horrendously wrong it was for the senior crew to be missing from their posts in that situation.
The fact that this was major ship disaster and there were no casualties..is a one and million stroke of luck,much respect to moss Hill and Robin boltman
I recall reading Tina Fey's book, Bossypants, where she spoke of taking a cruise with her at-the-time new husband. In pre-sailing preparations, they were told that, in an emergency, the staff were actually the ones who would be assisting you to safety in an emergency, as the crew would be dealing with the ship itself. So side note: Be very nice to the entertainment and hospitality staff.
They can only do that if they know there was an abandon ship order. Sounds like the captain and crew just started leaving the ship without telling anyone else.
1912: Women and children first, crew goes with its ship
1991: SCREW da passengers, we're outta here!
In 1912, he might have gotten shot by fellow crew members when seeing him wanting to leave first.
1854 on the SS Arctic: crew attacked the women on board with axes to stop them getting on the lifeboats. Out of the 81 survivors, 65 were crew. All the women and children died.
@@gray_mara The captain of the Arctic did try to protect the passengers and save as many people as he could. Pity most of his crew and gangs of drunken passengers scuppered any hope of survival.
Its got to be one of the most horrific sinkings. Base human urges taking over when people realized the ship was going down, all the lifeboats were gone and they were 400 miles from land. The orgy or raping and killing that ensued when there was no hope of surviving and would probably be no evidence of what went on is a lesson in how humans can act when facing certain death.
Part time explorer did a great documentary of the sinking here on CZcams. Well worth the watch.
@@meetoo594 Part time explorer is a great channel. That's where I first heard of the sinking, too.
It's ALWAYS the small exhaust ports that no one thinks will be a problem... First the death star, now the oceanos
How cowardly of not only the crew but those who failed to hold any of them accountable. They are just as cowardly.
Enjoyed this happy ending despite the captain's failure. I hope this channel covers the Sewol Ferry some day. The greed and corwardice of adults killed hundreds of children, government corruption...an awful tragedy.
Brick Immortar has a fantastic two-part video on the Sewol Ferry disaster, if you're interested in a similar style. There are some great visuals that really help you understand the coordination/failure-to-coordinate, and he goes into depth about the communication failures that led to a bunch of rescuers twiddling their thumbs while they watched a ship full of kids sink.
Moss & Tracy Hills and the other entertainers are amazing people! Really true heroes! It’s so awful what everyone had to go through but lives were saved because of the actions of the entertainers that day. Thank you for sharing their story! ❤
The guitarist being the only one on the bridge,
is the kinda nuanced hyper specific ironic joke that only a select few can get 😂
a fiddle player might argue with you
Hell's bells...talk about dereliction of duty! Early on in this one, lines from Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald were coming to mind..."fellas, it's too rough to feed ya..." The radio conversation between Moss Hills on the bridge and the EMS coordinator is pure Monty Python.
I hope those few crewmen who actually stayed on board and helped out the passengers instead of abandoning them got rewarded and promoted for their efforts. Those are the kind of sailors the world needs more of.
Such negligence and dereliction of duty should never happen. The Captain didn’t even put out a distress call?! 🤯 Charges should have been filed!
Moss Hills was also the hero in another shipwreck a couple of years later, the Achille Lauro! Extraordinary man ❤
...but maybe after that, could have been seen by potential cruisers as "uh oh, THAT guy is playing guitar on our ship"...😁
@@stevetournay6103or they were like "oh good, he gets stuff done!" 😂
I can’t believe there are captains like this guy and the guy who fled the Costa Concordia who actually think the phrase “the captain goes down with his ship” isn’t literal. The captain leaves LAST ALWAYS!
I am a South African, I well remember this disaster. The storms around that section of our coastal waters in winter are ferocious. Thank you for this upload 👋👋🇿🇦
As a years long viewer of this channel l think that l might perhaps have noticed a trend in regards to an inverse relationship between expensive equipment coupled together with cost savings on employee training and the sheer amount of shit that hits the fan.
Hi FH ! I've been watching your content since the nutty putty days and I have finally muscled up enough courage to open my own channel. I would've never done it without being a fan of your work and some others in this genre. You've inspired myself and thousands of others. My storytelling is nowhere near as captivating as yours but I'm learning so much from you. And as i became a creator my self, wow what a humbling expereince. I can atleast appreciate a little bit more on how much work it takes to produce a video. My channel may not succeed but you've absolutely changed my mindset for the better. Thank you being around ! Here from the beginning, Thank you FH and hope you have a spectacular new year !🙏
Pretty disgraceful lack of performance from the Captain and a big chunk of the crew. It still amazes me that he was allowed to captain vessels after this event.
What is it with these Mediterranean captains and emergencies? It seems like every time there's an emergency, they seem to be the first to panic and determined to be amongst the first to abandon ship.
I only know two cases. I don't see any reason to assume that north-sea maritime nations like f.e. Denmark or The Netherlands are statically any better.
@@vanCaldenborgh Then you haven't seen many of these accident videos.
@@tjroelsmaif your response to someone asking for more examples is "you haven't watched enough", it should be pretty clear you have no idea what you're talking about
@@tjroelsma You are just making this up.
@@vanCaldenborgh Add SS Yarmouth Castle and (Greek) Captain Byron Voutsinas to your list
What a bunch of heroes. They went from trying to keep people calm to managing a full scale evacuation of a sinking ship in a storm. The magician is moonlighting as frigging rescue diver. The Guitarist is essentially the acting captain. What a wild story. Good for them.
I remember hearing an interview with Moss Hills on Radio 4 a couple of years ago and being impressed at the way the entertainers stepped into the breach.
It also occurred to me that this was the third incident I knew of where the captain abandoned the passengers- the others being the Costa Concordia and, I think even worse, the Sewol ferry, when the crew told school children to stay in their cabins wile they abandoned ship.
While it is indeed surprising that the captain didn't receive any punishment, and it's a relief that nobody died. However I find myself asking... What was the fate of the canary?
I understood that it was set free and probably so on deck/outdoors, so it could maybe fly towards land...
Hope the little guy was close to shore, a friendly shore with friendly, hospitable birds..........
Maybe it went down with the ship
@@creeguyvernon *cries*
I saw a tweet from it just the other day.... ;
The entertainment staff deserve medals, they're heroes. I'm appalled, though not surprised the captain faced no disciplinary action, and shocked he was allowed to captain anything larger than a one man canoe!
So do the few remaining crew members that stuck it out and stayed behind to help when they could've easily jumped into a lifeboat or raft with the others.
What a story. I can't wrap my head around a captain/ senior staff abandoning ship without helping the passengers. Good job there were people willing to step up!
In my younger years I used to find this story funny, because I could not believe how anyone could be so fundamentally cowardly as the ship's main crew, taking off, saving themselves and leaving the passengers in such a terrifying situation. Thank you Fascinating Horror for broadcasting a bizarre yet amazing story of survival. Happy New Year!
As a newcomer to this story, I did find humor in the line, “Well, I’m not a rank. I’m the guitarist.” Also, just glad everyone survived.
@@zacharysieg2305 Agreed. You could not make this amazing story up in a novel.
Do you mean funny "humorous" or funny "unaccountable, and unbelievable"?
@@sharonpolome3033 All of the above, really. When you are young and immature you think that the very notion of a crew doing a runner like that is a scream because it sounds like something straight of a bad comedy film from my university video hire days. When you are older and hear the full story from a balanced, historically respectful channel - and not a sensationalist pulpy caught on camera disaster show I saw when I was in my late teens and first learned about the sinking from - you really appreciate the bravery displayed by the entertainment personnel and how this is an inspirational story with unlikely heroes that deserves to be passed down to future generations.
excellent video. Thank you. How that captain avoided prosecution is beyond my comprehension. He was clearly too incompetent to be in charge of anything, let alone a ship.
Wow that's incredibly negligent. What a horror story.
Talk about lightning striking twice, Moss Hills was also aboard the ill fated Achillie Lauro cruise ship which caught fire, he also was the hero aboard that ship too.
"But to stand and be still to the Birkenhead drill is a damn hard bullet to chew, A´n they done it..." Brave, strong men and women of the entertainment troupes. Well done! And to the few crew members who stood their ground.
Those entertainers are nothing short of absolute heroes, and I hope have been celebrated, and compensated, properly for their efforts. They quite literally are the main reason why nobody died in an situation that could have easily seen multiple casualties.
I remember this incident very well. Truly heroic effort by the entertainers and the helicopter crews. I can't think of any similar disaster where there's been no loss of life.
Asides from the absolute miracle moss pulled off without proper training and authority, God bless the entertainers that thought on their toes enough to alternate to a song without lyrics including "this'll be the day that I die" despite it being a pretty known song I feel like that's so thoughtful even though part of it was probably them themselves not wanting to say those words in the situation they were in. Regardless the entertainers were the absolute heros in this situation
I live in East London. It was the talk of the town at the time and is still spoken about by older generations today, keeping the story alive and known. One of the more popular tales from our region. Our local newspaper, the Daily Dispatch, will have a lot of additional documentaion of the event in its archives.
The Captain wasn’t a Captain, just a basic man that wanted the title of Captain.
Truly a coward
Some people are born leaders and some rise above their abilities through deceit. It's clear who is who in this story. Excellent job.
I remember watching stories about this in the news back then. There is another commenter on here who said he is a First Officer on a ship. He said it's true that Abandon Ship is for everyone, but its passengers first, then non-maritime crew, and Captain *last*. And it's horrendous that this captain only faced criticism and was allowed to pilot other ships (albeit smaller ones) later on until his retirement. He should NOT have been allowed to ever serve on another ship, whether it was as a Captain or any other position on the crew.
My thoughts exactly! The fact that this cowardly captain was not punished and was allowed to keep piloting ship (albeit smaller ones) is total bulls**t. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
I remember yelling at the tv
Those entertainers are true heroes. It’s amazing considering they weren’t members of the ships crew and yet helped organize a zero fatality evacuation on a ship where the captain had already literally abandoned ship and it’s passengers. A true disgrace that captain is. One of those things where lawfully he may have been little at fault, but morally as a captain of a ship an absolute disgrace.
That call to the other vessel is legend.
The entertainers and the crew that stayed behind, they’re truly heroes
The captain saying that they could help out from above/from a helicopter, that’s such bs
Wow. Nice to hear a story where everyone lived. It must have taken hours to pull everyone out two by two.
I would have loved to see the look on the other Captain's face when he finally understood that the GUITARIST was essentially in charge of a sinking cruise liner. 😂
My old next door neighbour was actually onboard both the Oceanos and the Achille Lauro when they sank! And I kid you not, was in Thailand when the Christmas Tsunami struck, when I got back I asked him, 'so uh... where is your next holiday? so I can make sure I stay far away!
I love watching the sinking of the Oceanos, it’s so… stately, and gentle, like the old girl knew she had done her job and stayed afloat long enough to get all her passengers off, and when the last one left she knew she could let go to a well deserved rest
❤❤
When the most competent crewmember is the guitarist!😳That man was everywhere, calling for rescue, assisting in launching lifeboats, calming passengers down, getting people off by helicopter. Just how many clones did he have on board that ship?😁👍
Fascinating story! What Heroes the Entertainer's were and what a cowardly captain! 🫡
the people should have sued that captain....... ffs HE ABANDONED them to die!!!!
The fact that the captain was given further commissions of ships after this is borderline unbelievable.
I saw another documentary saying that Moss Hills was involved in another sinking at some other point in his career. Imagine surviving two sinkings.
The captain should never have been allowed to work again.
Dude left his bird behind. Tells you all you need to know about his character.
"I'm not a rank. I'm the guitarist." is probably one of the most badass lines you would hear from a hero.
I also just learned, that there is a movie in production right now. There's a short interview with a filmmaker.
"Well I'm not a rank, I'm the guitarist" that says it all
That captain should have Never been allowed on a boat again! He should have gotten jail time!
He shouldn't be allowed on a pie boat going down lemonade river!🥴😤
Maritime law is way different than the law on land. Pretty much anything goes…
I grew up in SA and we were on holiday quite near Coffee Bay when this ship went down. The area where our cottage was situated was extremely quiet except for that day. Funny how some things stick in your mind after so many years.
Thank you for your informative, respectful, and compelling videos! And thank you for always including metric as well as imperial units of measure!
This should be made into a limited series on TV.
Remember, folks-the captain sinks with the ship. Any case where the captain leaves the ship first, it all ends in tragedy, prime examples being Sewol and Costa Concordia.
This is amazing. How could the crew just leave people to die like that?
The captain's cowardice..well..we've seen that before, but the thing that stands out to me is the captain and officers huddling on the deck.. The entertainers both contacted rescue, and had to be walked through finding the ship's position. The crew that left in a life boat, despicable, but at least I can understand that.. The captain and crew not even trying to save themselves and the passengers? Insane..
Thank goodness for Mr. & Mrs. Hills and the other entertainers and the few sailors & other personell who stayed and helped the passengers. Outstanding job! Heroes through and through.
I am trying to comprehend what exactly was going through the rescue boat person's mind when he realized the only crew the ship had was a band. 🤯
Oh and a magician. Some kids...a bird. 😂😂😂
I was expecting the worse, I’m so glad everyone was able to make it out alive
Every one of those entertainers should have been awarded medals for heroism far above the call of their duty. Coordinating such a massive rescue is no mean feat, and doubly so for people who have no training in it. But they managed, despite a despicable coward of a captain and (most of) the crew, to get *everyone* off the ship before she sank. With just 45 minutes to spare. A true Christmas miracle.
And every one of them should have been given bonuses equal to the captain's salary. Taken directly from his personal accounts.
It's nice to hear a survival story.
Captain Coward should have been punished in some way. Even though everyone survived, his comment about abandon ship was awful.
I’m so glad this has a happy ending. The captain was a dick
That's the perfect description for him.
I grew up in East London, SA; and this is something we touch on in primary school history, where we visit the museum exhibition of the wreckage.
Moss Hills was not only a hero on this ship, but when the MS Achille Lauro sank in 1994, he was also aboard that ship and he tried his best to retrive a mans heart medicine from his cabin. A true hero. If I was ever to be on a ship with Moss Hills, I would feel a whole lot safer.