A 'ferocious' Atlantic gale split an aging Greek tanker...

FALMOUTH, England -- A 'ferocious' Atlantic gale split an aging Greek tanker loaded with molasses in half today and hampered efforts to rescue 18 men, two of them injured, clinging to the sinking vessel without lifejackets. Fourteen crewmen were missing and feared dead.Three ships and U.S. and British military planes rushed to aid the 12,487-ton tanker, Victory. But heavy seas and winds gusting to 80 mph prevented any rescue attempt -- even by U.S. Air Force paramedics trying to parachute in with medical supplies.
The British coast guard said the Belgian cargo ship Potomac described conditions at the scene 480 miles northeast of the Azores, as 'horrendous' with 50-foot seas whipped by gale force winds.The Victory, with a predominantly Greek crew, was carrying 22,000 tons of molasses from Florida to Liverpool when 'ferocious seas battered her and split her in two,' coast guard spokesman Arthur Redford said at the Falmouth rescue center. The first Mayday was sent shortly after midnight.

Nineteen crew members -- without lifejackets or life rafts -- managed to escape to the stern section with its massive bridge superstructure, but two suffered unknown injuries. One crewman later slipped into the water and was presumed drowned.
No rescuer caught sight of the 13 men who dropped into a liferaft when the bow section split off in the raging seas.Only the stern section remained afloat all day but it continued to list as it grew dark.

U.S. Air Force paramedics stationed in England were sent to the scene of the Victory breakup, 840 miles west-southwest of Land's End, in a bid to rescue the 18 seamen clinging to the Victory's stern section.

A Royal Air Force Nimrod plane dropped eight liferafts to the survivors, but the pilot warned the ship might sink before rescuers arrived.

NIMROD MR2 XV244 crew 3 from 42 squadron St Mawgan
We were also the first Nimrod crew ‘on scene’ during the Fastnet race drama on 14 August 1979.

Last edited by mahogany bob; 10th Feb 2023 at 08:27. Reason: Addition

Reply