Greek Shipowner Defends Crew as Officials Look Into Claims of Abandonment

The owner and second officer of the sunken Oceanos liner said Tuesday that most crew members acted properly and helped save the lives of the 571 people aboard.

Many passengers criticized crew members for deserting the Oceanos soon after it lost power and began taking on water Saturday night. It sank Sunday afternoon, about 90 minutes after everyone on board had been lowered in lifeboats or picked up by military helicopters amid strong winds and powerful waves.

Three Greek coast guard officers flew Tuesday to South Africa to investigate the allegations that the crew abandoned ship before the passengers did. Some newspapers in Greece, a traditionally seafaring nation, said the incident disgraced Greek shipping.

The cause of the sinking has not been determined. The South African Transport Department began an inquiry after the 7,554-ton ship sank less than a mile off the rocky coast north of East London.

A spokesman said that depending on the results of the inquiry, a marine court could be convened with powers to withdraw Capt. Yiannis Avranas’ license and fine him if it found he had been negligent. He left the sinking vessel while about 170 people remained on board.

Epirotiki Lines, the ship’s owner, denied that the captain and crew abandoned the Oceanos. “We are really proud of the way in which the captain, the officers and our crew implemented the rescue plan despite the adverse conditions they faced,” the company said in a statement issued in Greece.

Christos Nikolaou, the ship’s second-in-command, said: “We had many . . . people congratulate us on our efforts. I don’t know why some passengers are claiming we didn’t do anything.”

Nikolaou said crew members gathered all passengers in the main lounge minutes after engineers discovered water flooding the generator room.

Lorraine Betts, British cruise director for TFC Tours and one of the last people to leave the ship before it sank, said several dozen officers and crew members fled in one lifeboat without telling anyone. But the rest of the more than 170 crew members acted professionally, she said.

“Without the help of able-bodied seamen, we couldn’t have done it,” she added.

Passengers have praised Betts for organizing rescue efforts and keeping people calm during the 15-hour ordeal.

Betts, 35, said crew members had specific assignments in an emergency, and many were required to operate the eight lifeboats and four rafts on the Oceanos.

She said about 50 crew members and TFC staff joined her in getting passengers to lifeboats and talking by radio with ships that answered the Oceanos’ distress call.

Avranas gave orders from the bridge until Sunday morning, she said, when he was airlifted by helicopter harness.

Avranas told Betts he would attempt to get a rescue ship near the Oceanos, but she did not hear from him again.