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Maritime
Historian
“Memories
of the JVO
This page has been updated in September 2010
With
many new photographs and accounts of this tragic event!
On 19 December 1963, this now elderly but
greatly respected ship cast off for the very last time. She
departed two hours late at 7 pm due to a number of problems that
had occurred aboard due to the refit. Aboard were 1,022 persons,
a total of 646 passengers and 376 crew ready to serve these happy
vacationer’s. Commanding the Lakonia was Captain Mathios
Zarbis who was a veteran sailor from the Aegean Island of Andros.
Her crew was multi-national, a mix of Greek, Cypriot, Dutch,
German, British, Canadian, Belgian, French and a handful of
Chinese laundry men. All were involved and concerned with the
smooth running of a big ocean-going cruise ship and to look after
the welfare of over six hundred passengers. She had a very
popular Cruise Director, who had been previously on the Greek
Lines' Arkadia, George Herbert, he would keep the passengers
entertained and busy with a vast range of shipboard activities.
The holiday of a lifetime finally was on the way. But the sad
truth was many who were looking forward to this special Christmas
holiday on the Lakonia would never come home.
Lakonia's days were tragically coming to an
end. On Sunday, 22 December, around 10pm someone noticed the
smell of smoke. But up in the grand Lakonia Room (ex Statesman
Lounge), passengers were filled with laughter as they
participated in the “Tropical Tramps Ball.” The Cruise
Director had announced the “Hobo King and Queen” and
given out the appropriate prizes. Captain Zarbis entertained
several passengers at his table. Then even in the Lakonia Room
several passengers began to notice the smell of smoke, but they
tended to dismiss it as “strong cigar smoke” or
something. Then a lady cried out “Fire, fire” but very
few people took any notice, thinking that “it must be part
of the frolics.” But now smoke began to fill the lower decks
and it began filtering up into the Lakonia Room.
The Purser, Antonio Bogetti, was about to leave
his office for a break, when a steward came in hastily announcing
that there was a fire in the barbershop. By now, passengers up on
promenade deck and in lounges as well as many in their cabins
were alerted by the strong odour of smoke. However, all remained
quite calm and some went up to the promenade deck to enquire what
was happening. No one at that time thought it was serious. It
became apparent to the crew, that the barbershop had been ablaze
for at least a half-hour and that the fire had now started to
spread and that it was becoming very serious. A fire squad of six
men was sent to the trouble spot, attempting to halt the fire.
But they soon realised that they could only try to contain or at
least slow the spread of the fire for the situation had now
become critical and even out of hand and it was going to get
worse by the second!
A Special Commendation! Cruise Director Mr.
George Herbert.
After the alarm was finally given, it was
George the Cruise Director who bravely took the task on himself
of calmly mustering the passengers to their respective boat
stations. He remained on board after all the available lifeboats
had been lowered and cleared the ship. Due to what could be
called poor maintenance, a number of derricks simply failed and
refused to move their lifeboats. Others only just managed to
release their lifeboats as the crew had to work very hard to get
them down. Some boats crashed into the side of the ship, with
others crashing into sea inflicting a number of injuries. Some
people were afraid and refused to get into the lifeboats due to
what they considered a fiasco. In the end over two hundred
passengers remained on board after all the operational lifeboats
had gone. But it was George who continued to keep the calm,
especially with the elderly and those who were unwell.
The SOS signal was sent in the evening around
11.30pm. By midnight flames had taken control of the mid section
of the ship. Those who remained on board, except for the fire
fighters, were gathered aft in the glass enclosed Shopping
Centre, the "Agora."
Very early the next morning, Monday 23 December
at 3:30 a.m., just four hours after the first distress call, the
Argentine passenger liner *MS Salta arrived on the scene. The
Argentinean
Passenger ship SS Salta
Provided
by Captain Barrere
Photograph
by © Gerhard Jourdan
History has it that the majority of the
survivors were in fact saved by the
Photographer’s © Copyright: All
the series of photographs that follow are by Gerhard Jourdan, who
was a sailor on board the Belgian ship Charlesville and I wish to
advise that I am using these on the basis that they are copyright
© and they many NOT be copied or used with out express
permission. You MUST email the author and request for the use of
one or more image that are shown on this page. We have
established with firms around the world that legal action can and
will be taken according to International Law if this copyright is
abused!
In Addition: Most of these photographs
were badly damaged and they have been reworked and vastly
improved. Their original Black and white to sepia may have
changed in some instances, but a clearer and far better picture
has come to light. It has taken countless hours of work by the
author of ssMaritime to restore these excellent photographs by
Gerhard.
I am grateful to Gerhard for providing these
fine images and setting the record straight, for most of the
credits had been taken by the first two ships, but as Gerhard
testifies that the Charlesville was there and worked extremely
hard and saved countless of lives, yet so little is said about
their achievements anywhere! I hope that the record has been set
straight!
Lakonia’s
Captain is still on his ship!
has just
rescued Lakonia’s
As I said each of the rescue vessels dispatched
boats to pluck survivors from the water and did a wonderful job
and all are to be applauded! In addition there were four United
States Air Force C-54rescue planes searching for survivors. These
planes dropped flares, lifejackets, life rafts and survival kits
for people in the water.
Rescue efforts were difficult as the Lakonia
had drifted for a few miles from the commencement of the fire and
during the evacuation. People in the water were dispersed over a
5 km radius. Therefore rescue ships were reluctant to get
too close to the Lakonia as the Stratheden photographs testifies.
Lakonia’s Captain Zarbis was spotted still
on board at daybreak pacing the decks of the still-burning ship,
thus the Captain of the Charlesville quickly sent a lifeboat to
rescue Lakonia's Captain who was the last person to leave the
Lakonia alive. Most of the Lakonia’s survivors were taken to
Madeira, whilst others, including the Captain, were taken to
“Lakonia
fire”
by
“I was on the Stratheden with my brother
and parents and wondered why the engines were suddenly going full
blast when they normally slowed down during the night.
We were told that the back of our ship had been
made into a morgue but that no bodies were put there, though I've
always wondered whether that was true. There was a whip round all
the passengers to give one item of clothing each of the
survivors.
I have 2 official photos taken by the ships
photographer. (Shown below)
Photograph
by the P&O/ships photographer – provided by Chris Titchen
Photograph by the P&O/ships photographer – provided by Chris Titchen
RAF and
From
the Don Hazeldine Collection
The
helicopter is from the HMS Centaur – to the right is the
Norwegian tug Herkules
From
the author’s collection
On December 24
A dramatic
aerial photograph of the aft section of the Lakonia ablaze and
there
are still
passengers onboard the next morning, as can be seen on the
gangway
As seen in the photograph above and below,
there is a man is clinging to the outside of the railing on
promenade deck, attempting to climb down to a lower deck with the
fire burning the on the railing just one and a half meters from
his hands. However, down on the starboard lowered shipboard
gangway stands a man on the third step from the water. This was a
This is an
early photo showing two men on the ship, one holding onto the
railing (mid left) and
Mr. Leslie
Hodgson at the bottom of the ships gangway
Or
the - JVO Index
***************************
I watched them come, I watched them go and I watched them
die.”
The Author
has been in Passenger Shipping & the Cruise Industry for over
60 years!
For interest: Sadly an email
service to ssMaritime is no longer available, due to the
author’s old age and chronic illness as well as being
disabled, etc. In the past ssMaritime received well over 140
emails per day, but
ssMaritime
is owned & © Copyright by