MTS Oceanos
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Oceanos |
| Namesake: | Jean Laborde |
| Owner: | Epirotiki Lines |
| Operator: | Epirotiki Lines |
| Port of registry: | Piraeus, Greece |
| Launched: | 12 July 1952 |
| Completed: | June 1953 |
| Out of service: | 4 August 1991 |
| Fate: | Sunk on 4 August 1991 |
| Status: | Wreck lies near Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 14,000 GT |
| Length: | 153 m (502 ft) |
| Beam: | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Draft: | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Decks: | 6–9 |
| Speed: |
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| Capacity: | 550 passengers |
| Crew: | 250 |
MTS Oceanos was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 due to uncontrolled flooding.
She was launched in July 1952 by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde in Bordeaux as the Jean Laborde, the last of four sister ships built for Messageries Maritimes. The ships were used on the Marseilles – Madagascar – Mauritius service. The Jean Laborde underwent several name changes including Mykinai, Ancona, and Eastern Princess; finally, in 1976, she was registered in Piraeus, Greece, under the name of Oceanos.
After a successful 1988 cruise season in South Africa, the Oceanos received an eight-month charter from TFC Tours (now Starlight Cruises) of Johannesburg. She was in a state of neglect, with loose hull plates, check valves stripped for repair parts after a recent trip, and a 10 cm (4 in) hole in the watertight bulkhead between the generator and sewage tank. She sank off South Africa's eastern coast on 4 August 1991 during a storm which caused leaking in the engine room and eventually flooded the ship.
The Oceanos was featured in the 1986 film Hardbodies 2.
On 3 August 1991, the Oceanos set out from East London, South Africa and headed for Durban. She headed into 40-knot winds and 9 m (30 ft) swells. Usually, there would have been a "sail-away" party on deck with musicians and British entertainers Moss and Tracy Hills. However, due to the rough seas, this was held inside in the Four Seasons lounge; most passengers choosing to stay in their cabins.
The storm worsened as the evening progressed and when the first sitting of dinner was served, the waiters could hardly carry the trays of food without dropping something. Eventually the ship was rolling about from side to side so badly that crockery and cutlery began sliding off the tables and potted plants were falling over.
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