SS Heraklion
Encyclopedia
The SS Heraklion was a car ferry
operating the lines Piraeus
- Chania
and Piraeus
- Irakleio between 1965 and 1966. The ship capsize
d and sank on 8 December 1966 in the Aegean Sea
, resulting in the death of over 200 people.
in Glasgow
in 1949, for the Bibby Line
to operate the UK to Burma route. She was chartered to the British India Line for some time to supplement its London
to East Africa
service. In 1964 she was sold to the Aegean Steam Navigation Co to operate under their Typaldos Line, renamed SS Heraklion.
Once Typaldos Line took ownership, she was refitted as a passenger/car ferry
. The ship had an overall length of 498 ft (152 m), a beam
of 60 ft (18 m), gross tonnage
of 8.922 tons, single prop
reaching a speed of 17 knots. Winter capacity was 35 trucks with an average weight of 10 tons. S/S Heraklion had her last survey on 29 June 1966.
, Heraklion sailed at 8.00 pm from Souda Bay, Crete for Piraeus, with α 2 hours delay allegedly in order embark the refrigerator truck that according to most accounts contributed to the sinking. Presently passenger ships are prohibited from sailing with winds blowing at 8 Beaufort scale
or higher, but at the time it was up to the captain to decide whether to sail or not, sometimes under pressure from the ship owners.
Halfway through the voyage and while sailing south of the small rocky island of Falkonera the aforemention refrigerator truck which was carrying oranges and was either left unsecured or was loosely strapped started banging on the midship loading door which eventually gave in and opened with the result of the truck plummeting into the sea where it was found floating the next morning and water coming in which after 15 or 20 minutes led to ship capsizing sometime after 2:00am on December 8, 1966, at 36°52′N 24°8′E.
An SOS
signal from Heraklion was received at 02:06am from various stations and ships around the Aegean sea
.
and other islands reported unable to offer assistance due to lack of equipment. Unfortunately the ferry Minos which was some 15 miles away from the scene did not receive the SOS.
At around 2.30am the head of the Hellenic coast guard
was alerted followed by the minister of Mercantile Marine and the minister of Defense. The ministry of Defense reported that a ship of the then Greek Royal navy was at Syros but it would take 3–4 hours to get under way. A number of ships including 2 British Royal Navy
warships North-East of Crete received the SOS and altered course for the scene.
At 4.30am the RHS Syros
was ordered to get under way, while an hour later the prime minister
was informed of the situation and the Air force
was alerted. A C-47 skytrain
took off from Elefsis airport followed shortly by two more. The first aircraft arrived at around 10:00am at the same time with the HMS Ashton
which started picking up survivors aided from the three aircraft. At 19.00 the Ashton docked at the port of Piraeus where a large crowd had gathered seeking information and waiting for the rescue ships, carrying survivors and bodies.
Officially, out of 73 officers and crew and 191 passengers only 46 were rescued, (16 crew and 30 passengers),while 217 perished, but the exact number remains unknown, since at the time it was customary to board the ship without a ticket, which would be issued upon sailing.
One of the dead was Michael Robert Hall King (b.1942), a grandson of Robert Baden-Powell.
The Greek government's investigation found the Typaldos Line guilty of negligence for several reasons; there was no drill for abandoning ship, there was a delay in sending a distress call and there was no organization of rescue work by the ship's officers. The company was also charged with manslaughter and faking documents. Haralambos Typaldos, the owner of the company and Panayotis Kokkinos, the general manager were both sentenced to jail in 1968. It was also found that twelve of the company's fifteen ships failed inspection under international law. The company's ships were taken over and sold, except two SS Hellas and SS Athinai who attracted no buyers, subsequently laid up for 20 years and broken up.
In the 1990s a sculpture known as "The Monument of the Hand" was erected near the harbour in Chania to commemorate the victims of the accident.
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
operating the lines Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
- Chania
Chania
Chaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...
and Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
- Irakleio between 1965 and 1966. The ship capsize
Capsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
d and sank on 8 December 1966 in the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, resulting in the death of over 200 people.
Background
SS Heraklion was built as the SS Leicestershire by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering CompanyFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1949, for the Bibby Line
Bibby Line
The Bibby Line is a British company concerned with shipping and marine operations.Its parent company, Bibby Line Group Limited, can be traced back to the shipbroking partnership of Bibby & Hall, which was founded in 1801. It is and always has been based in Liverpool...
to operate the UK to Burma route. She was chartered to the British India Line for some time to supplement its London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
service. In 1964 she was sold to the Aegean Steam Navigation Co to operate under their Typaldos Line, renamed SS Heraklion.
Once Typaldos Line took ownership, she was refitted as a passenger/car ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
. The ship had an overall length of 498 ft (152 m), a beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 60 ft (18 m), gross tonnage
Tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume...
of 8.922 tons, single prop
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
reaching a speed of 17 knots. Winter capacity was 35 trucks with an average weight of 10 tons. S/S Heraklion had her last survey on 29 June 1966.
Sinking
In the evening of December 7, 1966, and under extreme weather conditions, with winds blowing at 9 Beaufort scaleBeaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
, Heraklion sailed at 8.00 pm from Souda Bay, Crete for Piraeus, with α 2 hours delay allegedly in order embark the refrigerator truck that according to most accounts contributed to the sinking. Presently passenger ships are prohibited from sailing with winds blowing at 8 Beaufort scale
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
or higher, but at the time it was up to the captain to decide whether to sail or not, sometimes under pressure from the ship owners.
Halfway through the voyage and while sailing south of the small rocky island of Falkonera the aforemention refrigerator truck which was carrying oranges and was either left unsecured or was loosely strapped started banging on the midship loading door which eventually gave in and opened with the result of the truck plummeting into the sea where it was found floating the next morning and water coming in which after 15 or 20 minutes led to ship capsizing sometime after 2:00am on December 8, 1966, at 36°52′N 24°8′E.
An SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
signal from Heraklion was received at 02:06am from various stations and ships around the Aegean sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
.
Rescue efforts
The SOS signal was repeated twice. The Greek Ministry of Mercantile Marine was underequiped to handle the necessary communications while the port authorities of Pireaus, SyrosSyros
Syros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
and other islands reported unable to offer assistance due to lack of equipment. Unfortunately the ferry Minos which was some 15 miles away from the scene did not receive the SOS.
At around 2.30am the head of the Hellenic coast guard
Hellenic Coast Guard
The Hellenic Coast Guard is the national coast guard of Greece. Like most other coast guards, it is a paramilitary organization that can support the Hellenic Navy in wartime, but resides under separate civilian control in times of peace...
was alerted followed by the minister of Mercantile Marine and the minister of Defense. The ministry of Defense reported that a ship of the then Greek Royal navy was at Syros but it would take 3–4 hours to get under way. A number of ships including 2 British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
warships North-East of Crete received the SOS and altered course for the scene.
At 4.30am the RHS Syros
USS LST-325
USS LST-325 is a decommissioned tank landing ship of the United States Navy, now docked in Evansville, Indiana. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation .The ship was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2009...
was ordered to get under way, while an hour later the prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
was informed of the situation and the Air force
Hellenic Air Force
The Hellenic Air Force, abbreviated to HAF is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy, as well as the provision of humanitarian aid in Greece and around the...
was alerted. A C-47 skytrain
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
took off from Elefsis airport followed shortly by two more. The first aircraft arrived at around 10:00am at the same time with the HMS Ashton
Ton class minesweeper
The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy...
which started picking up survivors aided from the three aircraft. At 19.00 the Ashton docked at the port of Piraeus where a large crowd had gathered seeking information and waiting for the rescue ships, carrying survivors and bodies.
Officially, out of 73 officers and crew and 191 passengers only 46 were rescued, (16 crew and 30 passengers),while 217 perished, but the exact number remains unknown, since at the time it was customary to board the ship without a ticket, which would be issued upon sailing.
One of the dead was Michael Robert Hall King (b.1942), a grandson of Robert Baden-Powell.
Aftermath
In the 1990s a sculpture known as "The Monument of the Hand" was erected near the harbour in Chania to commemorate the victims of the accident.