This Sea-Chest Destroyed a 502 foot Ship 

Finding the keys to the sea chest is an old practical joke amongst sailors. I have a friend who was also in the USCG. He was tasked with finding the keys. He knew it was a ruse. He climbed into the shower fully dressed and got soaking wet and headed to the Chief’s mess. Knocked, entered and said I couldn’t find the keys but I was able to crack open the sea chest a little bit. Before he could even finish his sentence the machinery techs were scrambling. 😂

i am a chief officer on merchant ships and let me tell you we still have such incompetent officers and captains sailing onboard vessels. In this case i assume the captain knew someone higher up in the company which is why he never got the sack. His CoC should have been revoked on the spot. He was lucky no one died onboard or there would've been criminal proceedings against him just like the costa concordia.

The expression on the P&O ship’s skipper must have been priceless when Moss Hill explained he wasn’t even a deck hand or an engineering rating, but the ship’s guitarist… And he was the closest thing to being in charge.

What’s even more incredible is that Moss Hills would help evacuate another stricken cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, just three years later when that ship caught fire off the coast of Somalia

The entertainers deserved a huge bonus for their efforts and bravery. What an amazing couple

I wouldn't have given that guy command of a rowboat. Now, the entertainers... what a bunch of legends!

I remember this like it was yesterday. I was onboard one of the SA Navy Strike Craft that got dispatched from Naval Base Durban to assist in the rescue operation. The minute we left Durban harbour , we ran into some serious head seas, and that, straight away gave us an indication of the conditions we are going to face down to the Transkei coast. The swells were horrendous, even for us seasoned sailors. Sadly, we had to reduce speed due to the conditions, which resulted in us arriving at the site about the time she was going down. By that stage, all personnel had been taken off the ship, and there nothing we could do. Being a radar operator on watch that time I had her on radar, as well as the Puma helicopters, shuttling the people to land. We were just so happy nobody lost their lives during this tragedy...I will never forget the sight of debris scattered all over the ocean...life jackets, empty lifeboats, personal belongings, oil/fuel slicks etc. For all the years after, we always remembered that day, every time we sailed past Coffee Bay. Thanks for posting this video, very well presented.

"captain always goes down with the ship" has always been figurative but its meant to signify the importance of the person in charge to stick around when things do go wrong. I mean the dude did not even put out a mayday as well as the crew doing the GTFO. Good on the container ship captain being quick on his feet to realize he was talking to someone that likely had no ship experience other than playing music, And to help them with what to do. You know an an Airbus A320 is a lot smaller than a cruise ship, but Sulley walked his aircraft twice when it was in the Hudson before taking his exit to make sure everybody was off. This cruise ship captain honestly should have faced some kind of charges and certainly should have been terminated from the company and if there is a license to command ships that should have been revoked.

Moss Hills is an absolute hero. Theres a great episode of the Snap Judgement podcast where he tells the whole story from his perspective.

"Staggering incompetence" I could not have said it better myself.

Once, on my unnamed aircraft carrier, a forgotten temporary blank on an obsolete sea chest failed 8 years after that particular modification was performed. We were stunned by the sheer amount of sea water ingress. We were well trained and totally familiar with our particular engine room and the blank was labeled as a void. It took everything we had to contain and plug that gargantuan amount of unexpected water on an otherwise calm night. Only time in my life I thought we, the sailors, might loose to the sea. Looking back, it was one of the most amazing moments of my life,

you gotta love when the entertainers do more to save a ship then its actual crew

It’s insane to me the Capitan didn’t get jail time! His negligence would have killed people if not for the heroism of a few Good Samaritans. Amazing that all everyone survived what could have been a horrifically devastating event. I’d never heard the term “Sea-Chest” before, here’s me picturing sunken pirate treasure 😅😅 Another banger video, mate! Keep it up, I’ll watch as long as I’m alive to 🫡🫡💕💕

The Hills actually went through two sinkings! They're heroes 👏 🙌 🫡

Shoutout to Moss Hills who basically helped save everyone who was left onboard the ship. I believe this was his second time (at least one of two) being instrumental in saving many people’s lives aboard a sinking ship. Certified BAMF

If the radios are dead, then one uses runners. It worked in the old days across hundreds of miles. I'm pretty sure a 500 foot ship would be less challenging. But, one would need leaders and runners who still have their gonads.

my cousin was one of the puma chopper pilots doing the extraction, legend dude!

Leave it to a passionate musician to selflessly assume the role of what was well beyond his contracted duty. And then proceed to do the 'heavy lifting', Moss Hills and his wife are saints! The ship captain was spineless, and likely violated maritime codes but went unpunished? Sounds fishy to me!! Great post! Love the channel!

I have been teaching one of the lower stcw courses for Transport Canada for over 10 years and have played the Discovery channel’s doc on the Oceanus as an example of leadership ( Moss Hill) and it’s opposite in the Capt and officers. Thank you for adding the sea chest and maintenance failures. Much appreciated!

I remember this as a young child and I remember the anger at the actions of the captain. Good video well told. I never knew about the entertainers.

10:44 what! Incompetent negligence and he’s not sacked or jailed 😮

I've just discovered this channel and im going to binge watch. Your presentation and delivery is excellent and well researched.

I can't believe they let him off. I can hardly remember a time when I did not know the line "The Captain Always Goes Down With His Ship", which I've taken to mean both that the ship is the Captain's responsibility and life symbolically and also that a Captain should ALWAYS BE THE LAST TO LEAVE, making sure every person aboard is accounted for before departing.

I’ve heard this 3 times and this is the first time I’ve heard of the sea chest but that makes so much more sense than water just randomly getting in and flooding upward. Thank you!

You are a great storyteller. Also, I took French throughout my high school years, your French pronunciation and accent are excellent. Not that I am an absolute expert just because I learned and still speak French, but I do think I have a good ear for it. You definitely did not butcher the pronunciation, that's for sure.

I recognized this story when you started to mention the entertainers. I had not know that the so called Captain was retained by the company. What a travesty.

man I really thought the end was going to be much different than, no one died. Glad to see other people were able to fill the gaps left by a super negligent crew.

As a person who does not speak french at all I'd say your french was excellent :D As is every video on your channel, quality content all the way. Thank you.

Honestly this sounds like a plot from a bad 70s disaster movie. Unbelievable lack of care and attention. It's extremely fortunate no lives were lost. The company and the captain make my blood boil.

Amazing job on the rescue. Sounds like business as usual for the captain.

10:50 I bet that ferry got abandoned by him too. Can you do a video on the MV Derbyshire?

When that sorry excuse for a coward said that he'd given the order to evacuate and that if any of the passengers wanted to stick around then it was up to them, if I had been the interviewer or the cameraman he would be missing some teeth. I would not have been able to help myself. What a repellent individual.

Your pronunciation of Piraeus wasn't bad, was harder to understand epirotiki although it is understandable why you read it that way it's probably impossible to guess the correct pronunciation the way it is written. The negligence of the crew is criminal! Kudos to the entertainers and the TFC personnel for helping as much as they could!!

Man, I could (and have!) listen to your videos all day. You do a great job explaining the subjects and your accent is very distinct and cool! South African?

“Hello, coast guard …. this is the vessels first guitar mate speaking”

i discoverd this channel a couple days ago, and till now i cant stop watching. i learned so much from this channel. Thank you

0:37 Other than using the hard G in Gironde instead of the soft G, you pretty much nailed that. 😻

I'm so glad your channel is growing, I know I've commented this on a couple of other videos, but your independent productions are amazing, I wish you the best of luck as this platform really deserves down to earth and informative videos on marine and diving accidents.

if I'm not mistaken, there have been a couple of Greek Captain Cowards that left passengers stranded.

So, the Music Band mans the ship to the last while the captain runs... Fascinating.

Thank you for your brief but balanced account. Best I've seen on the subject.

I'm (respectfully) so obsessed with you and this channel. I've fully binged the whole channel 1.5 times since finding it! So excited to see what videos you'll put out next!

As a Brazilian citizen and Portuguese speaker, I can confirm that your French seems spot-on!

Great storytelling! I appreciated your effort at foreign names ( the French sounded quite good) and I'm glad you don't use AI

After watching all these videos from Dark Seas, Dark this, Dark that, Stories blabla and Oceanliner Designs, I'm starting to get an aversion toward Greek and Italian Cruise & Shipping lines 🤣

Let me reassure you that you murdered the pronunciation of those French and Greek words with elegance and precision. 😂

Well, your french was understandable, so good enough in my book

Great content as usual, thank you mate!

Love your channel very interesting an the way you tell the story is excellent

Can't begin to comprehend how Moss felt when he entered the Bridge...

Well, so much about the Greeks being " fearless". There was a mention that 4 lives were lost, so it looks like he's headed to " the Locker".⚓🦈

Your french pronunciation was pretty good tbh

Love the channel, all the vids are filled with fine details that most other "disaster" channels lack. And putting yourself in the video adds a personal touch

Top channel. Cheers, mate.

Being a Journeyman Newspaper pressman (remember those?) until seeing the writing on the wall in the late 90's, we used to send the flyboys (guys or girls that would stand next to the "fly" where the papers came out to "hey, go find me a paper stretcher". They'd come back after 30 minutes or more while they asked everyone, one by one, where it was. "Oh, I left it in the reel room", "I think it's in the ink room", etc... You can't stretch paper.

I remember this as it happened . Holiday makers on the deck holding for dear life. As the ship was well over to one side with a unnatural motion , waiting for hours to be rescued . It looked as if it would go down at any moment .

Great video and pron. Of French trees Bon! Love your videos man!

If it makes you feel any better, there are words my brain definitely doesn't like to pronounce either. Good save!

Captain Avranias, what a hero..... Unbelievable that everyone survived.

I think you said the names quite well. Alot better than any of my attempts lol

Your French pronunciation is not the worst, and it definitely sounds like effort was made. Your pronunciation of Pireus is hilarious.

I saw a short interview with Moss hills talking about this particular fateful voyage as well as numerous things that he talks about witnessing (the behavior of the crew, the decisions of the captain: were almost too insane to believe🙄😖

Thank you! PS: You can check the pronunciation of any word or name in any language on the Internet.

Your French accent was perfect, but Piraeus is pronounced PIR AY US. From an Australian traveller.🇦🇺

I dont know how i stumbled on your channel, but i absolutely love the quality of your videos! Im surprised you dont already have millions of subscribers.

The pos was still allowed to have ANYTHING to do with ships/boats/ferry's. That's messed up. That's very refreshing knowing the captain and some officers were first off boat and the captains words are scary as hell..."I ordered abandon boat. That's for me too. If they want to stay they can stay" WTF.

This channel shows consistent recurring themes with shipwrecks.

2:47 Captain looks exactly like the Costa Concordia “captain”

Unbelievable that the captain wasn't sacked and was able to captain another - smaller ship!

We fish off Oceanos Wreck in the Transkei.The current can be very bad in the area is went down

The Captain didn't do jail time... and got another command. That says so much about the state of a business. The Hills deserve all the recognition for this.

Omg, I sailed on an Eporitki ship in 1996 (the Triton - in the Mediterranean). There had been a fire in the engine room on the previous cruise (1 week ago). Still, enjoyable!

Yeah, Moss and Tracy Hills went through this sinking, and then went through it yet again on the Achille Lauro on December 2nd, 1994 off the coast of Somalia! Turns out he is now a cruise director!

my mouth is literally on the ground, didn't expect that ending lmao. only tolerable because of the eventual success of the evacuation

Just amazing stories so strange they must be real. 😂 A hero is going to emerge from the middle class. And that captain had no class. Thank goodness for the brave musicians on board, and the surprisingly swift recovery effort from coastal Africa. Also, it seems that the storm died out at a convenient time.

Moss and Tracy Hills were the true heros of this tragic event.

The ballsiest ship's band since Wallace Hartley's combo on the Titanic.

Frenchie here, you accent is on point Skip :)

Have you heard of the HMAS Westralia fire? It could be something interesting to cover. I recently found your channel and have binged it. Keep up the good work! :D

You did better than i could have

Okay, if it ACTUALLY doesn't matter when you leave, then why are you in such a big damn hurry to do so?

On a positive note, the Greek crew were excellent at getting themselves off the ship.

Given his level of competence, I'm shocked the captain didn't go into politics. Seems like a good match.

Well good day Paul. Again another great video from my favorite site and my favorite story teller 😉❤😉 That captain should have done jail time!! 1 day for every passenger he left on the ship.

Wow, that captain should have gone to prison! Massive props to the entertainment staff for being more brave and professional than the crew.

Bro! I was super impressed by your French, I have no idea if it’s right, but it sounded right!! 👍👍

We have many content about Moss Hillsand the M.V. Oceanos. But this is a good technology based video. 👌😏

Really nice SFX and background music to this video. Top notch retelling of an already often-told story.

I think the ship itself knew it’s time was up! The disregard of the parent company to let this vessel sail in the condition that it was in! Must have been a $495 round trip special!

Pronounce the names however you want with total conviction and confidence. Everyone will presume you are correct 👍.

To be honest, you made a good effort to pronounce these French words correctly. Was it perfect, no, but I'm not better when I speak English. But I understood what you were saying and that is the most important thing... Thank you

The captain should forever be remembered as a coward

You know you have failed utterly as a Captain, when the ship's band guitarist puts out the mayday call and takes control of the evacuation of the ship.

WOW! An advertisement from Virgin. The Algorythm didn't think that one thru.

When you said the captain and crew left the ship that was bad enough -- but without even sounding the alarm??? Attempted mass murder I call it.

Messagerie maritime, you pronounced it correctly mate ! Bon vent !

He never should have commanded a canoe after that.

Love your flawless pronunciation of Piraeus. Some of my family run a maritime training center there, though I've never been. Have you made any content on the ARA San Juan? I think I've watched all of your videos but I could have missed something. The wreckage was discovered by Ocean Infinity, whose name i had heard many times by then as they were heavily involved in the search for MH370. I'd love to hear your retelling of it, if you haven't done it already.

FIY Piraeus is pronounced "pea-re-ass" (re as in REd). And no, I don't know why it's spelled that way in English either :P

How do you say "Vada a bordo, Cazzo!" in Greek?