[bluestraveller]

this is just brilliant. Thank your for sharing this experience with us. It is very difficult to keep calm in such situations and you did a brilliant job to keep focused. The people on the ship were the luckiest to have a crew like yours.
Please do let us know what the investigating report said. i am very curious to know the cause of the fire and why the ship ultimately sank. On wiki there is a link that shows photos of the vessel under sea. You should upload that as well in your conclusion

[Thad E Ginathom]

The Cutty Sark was very badly damaged by fire a few years ago and is, I think, still under restoration.

Deky, are you still sailing?

[-GT-]

Scary, Spine chilling, Gripping - and OMG this is not a fiction !!

This 'travelogue' is going to remain in my mind and memory for a long long time. Thank you Dhiraj for a great narration. I could almost smell the smoke and feel the fear.

BTW, only a couple of days back, we were looking at the "Star Cruises" web site and planning for a cruise within the next 6 months or so.

[autopsyche]

Amazing experience. Your writeup and narration is very englufing. I almost felt like im in the situation while reading!

[Venom_rider]

That must've been a really harrowing experience buddy, was really glad to know that there were no lives lost.

Excellent narration deky!!!

[deky]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

OK, Dhiraj, just to give most folk a wee idea of how it looks, I'm posting a few pics here. With your permission, Sir!?

Lovely cabin, were you the Master, well you have to be, None of my cabin's in any of the ships was that big, but still the sentiments for a cabin remain the same.

Originally Posted by DKG

I remember I was really amused with the way a ship is steered. Something like you start planning a km ahead?

Yeah something like that, I am not sure about the manoeuvering of the ship as I was in the Hotel side. Maybe Mr. Anup Mathur can shed some light on that.

Originally Posted by bluestraveller

Please do let us know what the investigating report said. i am very curious to know the cause of the fire and why the ship ultimately sank. On wiki there is a link that shows photos of the vessel under sea. You should upload that as well in your conclusion

Well the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the main switch box, but i stil do not believe that, that was the main cause of sinking. I think the main cause of sinking was the ship loosing its balance with the tug boat throwing lots of water in the ship. With a result, one of the shell doors on the lower decks which was unfortunately left open went under water. (the open shell door can be seen in this pic)


I have read no official confirmation i have read to support my theory, but this was the talk which was going on immediately after the ship went down.

The only thing that i heared about any inquiry on the net is this.

"Jan 5, 2001 -- A press report states: The master of Sun Vista acted correctly and appropriately in all stages involved in the evacuation of passengers from the sinking cruise ship and was right in not allowing passengers to get back to their cabins to recover their belongings. The report had criticised Sven Hartzell for his role in the handling of the fire and resultant sinking of the Singapore-bound vessel in the Malacca Straits in 1999. He was cleared of any mishandling of passenger safety by the investigating flag state agency, the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA). The report of the investigation by the BMA into the fire and sinking noted: "The circumstances under which the evacuation of passengers and crew took place were somewhat unusual due to the failure of main, auxiliary and emergency power supplies, and the prior assembly of passengers and crew on the upper decks." In its analysis of the entire incident, the BMA report went on to note that the captain in his handling of the passenger's welfare, acted appropriately under each particular circumstance as they arose. The report notes that the first announcement to passengers that something was wrong was made approximately 30 minutes after the power failure at 1505 hrs. The report acknowledges that at the time of the power failure the extent of the fire was not known. Some 10 minutes after the first announcement passengers were advised to remain on the open decks. "This was a sensible precaution, particularly as there was no electric lighting and the lower deck spaces would have been in complete darkness," noted the report. This resulted however, in passengers being unable to retrieve clothing and personnel effects including medication as well as their life-jackets, although other life-jacket stores supplied an adequate number for the passengers and crew. But the report underscores that the captain acted correctly in ensuring the safety of his passengers: "To allow passengers to return to their cabins in these circumstances would have exposed them to unacceptable risks.”Although the decision to abandon ship was not taken until 1750 hrs, the decision to marshal passengers and crew on the upper decks proved to be well founded," said the report. END UPDATE"

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Deky, are you still sailing?

Not since 2005, now i am happy settled in Jaipur and running a small little guesthouse here. By the way, so that i dont miss the ships, i have given a ship theme to the guesthouse and call it "Starboard"

Originally Posted by -GT-

BTW, only a couple of days back, we were looking at the "Star Cruises" web site and planning for a cruise within the next 6 months or so.

Star cruises is great, you should do it, believe me you will enjoy every minute of it. And also a lot of Sun Vista cruise joined the Star Cruises later, so you might bump into a few.

[aaggoswami]

Narration puts one in the shoes of officials who were doing duty on the ship.
I have always liked ships ( along with cars, trains and airplanes ). The huge size just makes them magnificent and majestic for me. I love watching programs on some TV channels where they show the steps and way in which a massive ships are constructed.

This is one incident that I read in one magazine and saw the last shot taken from ship. I think that it wasn't, and the last photograph taken from the ship is the one P Anand is getting off the ship. This still was a 233 mtr long ship.
The experience is quite scary and some photographs made me more sea-sick.
Hats off to you and your team who responsibly conducted the evacuation of the ship and the best part is no lives lost. Certainly the emotional attachment is there and there are sad moments when something of this scale happens.

[bonobashi]

Originally Posted by DKG

Wonderful. Do please consider starting a thread on old ships, and the amazing stories to tell. I remember the excitement I encountered as I read those stories was almost like I was there on the ship during those races. Amazing tales.

BTW wasn't the Cutty Sark damaged a few years back due to a fire?

You're absolutely right; there's probably a picture or two somewhere. AFAIK, the hull is still intact, and some rescue effort is going on (the fire was sometime last year).

I'll think seriously about the ships thread, but shouldn't one of the shippies be doing it, rather than a frustrated sailor who was thrown out before the SSB because of bad eyes?

Just a hopelessly-off-topic aside, which I just can't resist: did you know that much of the Royal Navy was actually built by the famous Wadias of Bombay (think fearless Nadia)? I'm trying to find the right resources, but even HMS Victory had a connnection with the Bombay shipyards.

bonobashi

[DKG]

Originally Posted by bonobashi

I'll think seriously about the ships thread, but shouldn't one of the shippies be doing it, rather than a frustrated sailor who was thrown out before the SSB because of bad eyes?

Do please get started. Infact we should try to find out what has survived in terms of old boats and engines in India. Is there a Maritime museum somewhere which has these on display? There's a nice submarine in Vizag which I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. The INS Vikrant is a museum now right? But what about smaller boats and especially the old engines.

I am sure India has had its share of fabulous boats and aircrafts coming in, pity no effort has been made to create museums, and if they do exist, to popularise it.

[bonobashi]

Originally Posted by DKG

Do please get started. Infact we should try to find out what has survived in terms of old boats and engines in India. Is there a Maritime museum somewhere which has these on display? There's a nice submarine in Vizag which I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. The INS Vikrant is a museum now right? But what about smaller boats and especially the old engines.

I am sure India has had its share of fabulous boats and aircrafts coming in, pity no effort has been made to create museums, and if they do exist, to popularise it.

I'm going over to PM for a very personal memoir to you about Vikrant and the Indian Navy, which certainly will be an infliction on the general list.

Regarding your suggestion, please give me some time; I have a huge amount on my plate, personally, and would like to do justice to such a thread by building enough 'back' material to keep it going in an interesting way.

I must admit that it does tie in rather nicely with my increasing gravitation towards maritime history.

With apologies to the list,

bonobashi

[iraghava]

Fantastic travelogue Dhiraj! I must say it is one of the most well-written travelogues I've ever read. Was wonderful to know that you continued to sail for quite a few years even after going through this experience.

[KVS]

Very well written and composed Dhiraj!!

I am surprised that you remembered all what happened to the detail. You certainly have an alternate career.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Keep writing...

Regards

KVS

[f1fan]

Saw this thread today and read it completely in one go. Pretty much lived all the experience thru Dhiraj's narration.
Excellent work Dhiraj. And as someone said " May God not force this on anyone anytime"

[deky]

Thanks a lot guys for taking out time and giving fantastic reviews. This is a true story, so the the sequence of events was just put in words, i dont think i would be able to do justice if i do take as an alternative career. but neverthless thank you

Originally Posted by iraghava

Fantastic travelogue Dhiraj! I must say it is one of the most well-written travelogues I've ever read. Was wonderful to know that you continued to sail for quite a few years even after going through this experience.

I would have never left sailing if i had not got married, to leave a secure job with Taj, Mumbai and take a contract baesd job on the ships was one of the best decisions of my life, and why not, as I said where else do i get to see the world and get paid for it too.

[lamborghini]

Saw this thread today.
Amazingly well written and it really engulfed me.
It also scared me a bit as I am planning a Royal Caribbean cruise to Jamaica from Miami with friends and given my strict budget would be staying in a lower deck.