Guitarist who saved hundreds of people on sinking cruise ship
Sarah McDerhl
Guitarist Moss worked as an entertainer on cruise ships for many years and later became cruise director
In 1991, when the luxury liner Oceanos was sailing off the coast of South Africa When the ship begins to take on water in rough seas, musician Moss Hills and his colleagues suddenly find themselves responsible for everyone on board.
During dinner, Moss Hills began to realize how serious the storm was. The ship's waiters, who are usually perfectly good at carrying drinks and food without spilling anything, are struggling. Guitarist Moss from Zimbabwe, who works on cruise ships with his wife, bassist Tracey, had never seen a waiter drop a plate before.
Earlier in the day, strong winds and heavy rain repeatedly delayed the final leg of the voyage to Durban. But with the situation showing no signs of improving, the captain finally decided to weigh anchor, and the Oceanos, with 581 guests and crew on board, sailed in 40-knot winds and 9-meter (30-foot) waves.
Moss and Tracey, both in their 30s, usually host parties on the pool deck as the ship leaves port. But the party had moved indoors that day, and Moss strummed his guitar while bracing himself, trying to keep his balance amidst the bumps and rolls of the boat.
"The storm is getting worse," Moss said.
At dinner, Tracey - who her husband described as calm and composed - decided to go to their cabin to prepare an emergency kit, just in case.
"She went away," Moss said, "and suddenly - boom - all the lights went out.
Tracey and Moss worked on cruise ships together for many years
None of the officers on the ship seemed to be giving orders. "You're on a boat in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of a dark night, in a terrible storm," he said, "and I feel my stomach tightening.
When the dim little emergency light came on, Moss walked up to the break room and examined the instruments on the stage. Microphones and cymbal stands were scattered around. Then, he suddenly realized, he couldn't hear the insistent, throbbing sound of the engine. background noise.
Soon the 153-meter (502-foot) ocean was drifting sideways into rough waves.
Anxious guests began to pour in, Moss said. Lounge. Potted plants, ashtrays, chairs slid around, the ship rocked wildly from port to starboard, and people had to move from their seats to sit on the floor.
About an hour passed, and the atmosphere in the lounge changed. Nervousness was growing. Moss grabbed an acoustic guitar and started singing along with some other artists, trying to keep people calm. But as time went on, Moss noticed the boat was listing as it was being carried in the storm. When tossed around, it no longer returns to a horizontal position.
"Something bad is happening," Moss said to Tracy, "I'm going to see what's going on. "
Listen to Moss tell his life-changing story BBC broadcast on 6 April 2022 at 9am.
When I was a child I saw the plane crash that killed my sister dying Experience made me a top musician
Moss and Julian, another magician from Yorkshire , clung to the handrail and walked through the darkness below decks where they could hear excited voices speaking many languages. "Officers were running around, some carrying bags, some wearing life jackets, some soaking wet," Moss said: "Everyone had crazy eyes and looked panicked. “We wanted to ask ‘what happened’ but it was like we weren’t there.
Julian and Moss continued down to the engine room - the lowest part of the boat.
"We were below the waterline, in the dark, by ourselves, and there was no one there," Moss said. "There was no way this was going to happen." , even if wages are deducted.
The thick metal doors were tightly closed and served as a safety barrier to prevent water from moving from one cabin to another in the event of a flood.
But it sounded like there was a large body of water in the watertight area, Moss said. There was dangling behind the door.
The Oceania is sinking.
Some passengers wearing life jackets were sitting on the floor while others were queuing for lifeboats Back in the lounge, there was still no announcement about what was going on. Moss approached the cruise director, The latter said the captain told her they would have to abandon ship.
He said: "We later discovered that there were many crew members and senior officers on board a lifeboat.
Moss and the others had no idea how to evacuate a cruise ship or how to launch the lifeboats that hung from the deck along each side of the ship, but there was no one around who was more qualified to do so.
They started a One by one they lowered the starboard lifeboats onto the deck. They didn't know how to keep them steady while people got on board, so Moss improvised by standing with one leg on the ship's deck and the other on the lifeboat.
But each time the ship rolled to starboard, Moss had to jump back onto the Oceanos, and the lifeboat swung away, opening a gap of several meters, before swaying back and slamming into the hull, causing pieces of the ship to heave. The lifeboat, with up to 90 people now inside, many screaming in fear, was then lowered into the sea by cables. But Moss didn't know how to start the engine or even where the key was, he said. We would let them out into the night and they would drift out into the rough waves. "The people in the lifeboats had a miserable time - they were flooded with water, it was cold and completely dark, but we could only hold on until all the lifeboats on the starboard side were launched." "
A lifeboat hangs on the portside of the Oceanos
Picture caption,
A crew member who stayed on the ship tried to lower the lifeboat hanging on the port side of the ship
At this time, the "Ocean" was absorbing more and more water, and It was tilting significantly to starboard. It was almost impossible to safely launch the remaining lifeboats on the port side.
Once full, the lifeboats would not be lowered into the water, but would stay close to the ship's side until the next big wave rolled in and took the ship away. "Then the force of gravity would suddenly drop the lifeboat three or four meters (13 feet), almost knocking people out into the open water," Moss said.
Eventually, he realized it was too dangerous to continue.
"In the effort to rescue people, we were probably going to kill them," Moss said.
Time was running out.
With no more lifeboats able to launch, but hundreds still needing rescue, Moss and others walked up to the bridge - where they expected to find the captain and remaining senior officers - to ask what to do next. What to do.
"We looked inside, but no one was there," Moss said. "That's when we realized - it was just us.
Orange-red lights flashed in the darkness, but Moss had no idea what most of the equipment was for, let alone how it worked. They took turns trying to radio a distress signal.
Moss said: "I Shouting, 'Help! Help! Help! ’ Then I waited for someone to answer. "
A loud and deep voice finally answered. "Yes, what is your cry for help?"
Moss explained with relief that he was on the Oceanos cruise ship, which was sinking.
"Okay, how long can you stay afloat?" "I don't know -- our starboard rail was in the water, we were rolling around, we were taking a lot of water,"
Moss said. "We still have at least 200 people on board." "
" OK, what is your position? "
" We are about halfway between East London Harbor and Durban."
" No, no, no, what are your coordinates? "
Moss didn't know what their coordinates were.
"What's your rank? "
" Well, I'm not a military officer - I'm a guitarist. "
A moment of silence.
"What are you doing on the bridge? "
" Alas, there is no one else here. "
" Who will go on the bridge with you? "
"So I said, 'It's me, my wife, the bassist, and we have a magician here...'"
Moss made contact with two boats approaching the Ocean. They asked Moss to find the captain, "I knew he wasn't down there because we were sinking," he said. "I was doing regular checks to see where the water was. , one deck below us was flooded.
Eventually, Moss spotted the captain, just behind the boat, smoking a cigarette in the dark. Moss explained that they desperately needed his help.
"He just stared at me with his eyes wide open," Moss said. , saying 'No need, no need. ’”
“I think he was in deep shock.
The two ships approaching the Oceanos each had a lifeboat and were therefore of little help. They shared the coordinates of the wreck with the South African authorities, who began organizing an air rescue mission.
Moss and Tracey were the last people to be airlifted to safety.
As the storm continued to batter the ship, Moss and Tracy sat together in the dark, praying that help would arrive before it was too late.
Moss said to his wife: “I think the ship is going to sink, and we’re probably going to go down with it.
He and Tracey had a 15-year-old daughter, Amber, who was holidaying on the Oceanos and had just disembarked a few days ago. Amber is now back at boarding school in South Africa.
Moss remembers saying: "She couldn't lose her parents. . “Whatever we do, we make sure at least one person gets out of the car. "
As dawn breaks, the first of two Navy divers attempts to dive into the ocean in strong winds
More than three hours pass before the first rescue helicopter arrives, hovering above the ship.
Two Navy divers are winched Hoisted to the deck of the Ocean. They said they needed help getting everyone out before the ship sank, and Moss received a five-minute crash course in how to conduct a helicopter airlift.
Navy divers told him: " Remember, the harness needs to be fairly tight under people's armpits. "Make sure you do it right, otherwise they'll fall out upside down - and you'll kill them on the deck." Do two at a time or we'll run out of time. OK? Let's go.
A Navy diver organized a helicopter rescue from the rear of the ship, with Tracey and Moss organizing a second from the front. But as the ship sank deeper and deeper into the waves, people began to scramble from the steeply pitched deck in panic Jumping up and down, a rigid inflatable device had to be launched into the churning sea to rescue them
The men Moss was trying to save were hanging from the helicopter's cables and were blown partially overboard by strong winds as they were winched into the sky. Not knowing how badly they were hurt, Moss momentarily lost his nerve. But with so many people on board, he realized he had no choice but to keep going.
A total of five helicopters joined the rescue mission, going back and forth. shuttle, carrying 12 people at a time to safety as daylight and darkness cleared.
Moss and Tracey were exhausted and ended up strapped into the harness.
"As we circled above the ship, it really hit. When it came to me," Moss said, "I could see that the Oceanos was in critical condition and we could see the waves crashing against the bow of the ship where we had been rescuing people.
As the helicopter carrying Moss landed on the grass, cruise ship passengers ran toward him, sang and cheered, and reached out to hug him.
"I started choking and crying," Moss said, "and then I collapsed."
Sun loungers, life jackets and other debris tumbled from the deck and floated on the water before the ship disappeared.
On August 4, 1991, about 45 minutes after the last person on board was airlifted to safety, the Oceanos Sliding away from the water. All those who got into the lifeboats were rescued by passing ships, but remarkably no one died. Moss and Tracey, who now live in Liverpool , continue to work as cruise ship entertainers for many years. Thirty years on, Tracy is reluctant to talk about the sinking or dwell on how close they came to losing their lives.
But Moss, who has been asked about the ocean many, many times, finds it a cathartic thing to talk about. . He looks back on what happened with relief.
“I’m not invincible,” Moss said, “but if I can get through it, I can get through anything. ”
Greece conducted an investigation and found that the captain of the Oceanos and four other senior officers neglected their duties in the sinking incident.
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