MARVELOUS CHRISTMAS CRUISE TO SUNNY MADEIRA AND THE CANARY
ISLANDS, proclaimed the Greek Line brochure for the cruise ship Lakonia.
HAVE YOUR HOLIDAY WITH ALL RISK ELIMINATED. ENJOY A HOLIDAY YOU WILL REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. For the 651 passengers and 390 crewmen and relatives aboard the liner, it was indeed a Christmas they would never forget. In the dead of night, four days out of Southampton last week, the Lakonia was swept by a raging, uncontrollable fire that left the 20,314-ton vessel an abandoned, gutted ruin. Of the 1,041 persons aboard, 91 were known dead and 64 more were missing in the rolling Atlantic swells.
Though the Lakonia was 33 years old, she was on her first voyage under the Greek flag. As the Dutch liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, she had for years plied the route from Holland to the Netherlands East Indies, during World War II had served as a British troop ship. Unlike newer ships, her bulkheads below deck were wood-paneled and her wiring system was oldfashioned; three times, under the Dutch, the liner was hit with small fires that were easily brought under control. A year ago, with passenger traffic proving unprofitable, the Dutch owners sold the vessel to the Greek Line. The Greeks reoutfitted the ship from bow to stern and changed her name—which, in the superstitious lore of the sea, is a dread omen of danger.
The Ringing Bells. Tragedy was the farthest thing from anyone's mind when the Lakonia left Southampton. Most of the passengers were elderly Britishers off to enjoy Christmas in the sun; three honeymoon couples were on board, as well as schoolboys joining their parents in Madeira and a group of five London taxi drivers on holiday. On the first day at sea, Captain Mathios Zarbis, 53, ordered the only boat drill held during the cruise. Only the constant trouble with the Lakonia's electrical system gave reason to suspect trouble ahead.
Two nights before Christmas, the ship was in a festive mood. In the main lounge, Captain Zarbis was judging costumed contestants at a Tramps' Ball; first prize—a bottle of white wine—had just been awarded to a 13-year-old girl in beatnik tights when alarm bells started to ring. In the ship's cinema, where Bob Hope was cavorting on the screen with Anita Ekberg in Call Me Bwana, the audience at first thought that the ringing bells were part of the film's plot. But the smell of smoke soon convinced them that something was amiss. Other passengers who had gone to bed early were not yet fully aware of the danger. No fire instructions were issued over the loudspeaker, and the alarm bells stopped ringing so quickly that many people thought it was only a drill.