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34:
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481:, the aforementioned refrigerator truck, which was carrying oranges and was either left unsecured or was strapped loosely, started to slam into the midship loading door, which eventually gave way and opened, and the truck plummeted into the sea, where it was found floating the next morning. Water immediately gushed in through the open loading door and the
693:
manslaughter and faking documents. Haralambos
Typaldos, the owner of the company, and Panayotis Kokkinos, the general manager, were both sentenced to jail in 1968. It was also found that twelve of the company's fifteen ships had failed inspection by international law. The company's remaining ships were taken over and sold either for
692:
The Greek government's investigation found the
Typaldos Lines guilty of negligence for several reasons; there was no drill for abandoning ship, there was a delay of the sending of a distress call, and there was no organization of rescue work by the ship's officers. The company was also charged with
603:
The first messages transmitted from the ships that arrived at the scene of the tragedy at 8:30 a.m were disheartening. There was no sign of debris from the ship and, more importantly, no sign of survivors. The first headlines of Greek newspapers reported that the ship had sunk with complete loss of
492:
signal was sent, saying: "This is
Heraklion. The midship door has been destroyed. Ship is in danger." At the same time, the list was increasing by the minute and the ship was losing speed. Officers and crew tried desperately to save the ship, but to no avail, as the list worsened and the ship began
614:
rushed to the scene as well. The airplane circled above the truck, descending slowly to a lower altitude when the voice of the pilot of the second airplane sounded on the radio, almost commanding: "Your
Highness, your flight path is dangerous, take height now!" The captain of the
676:
Officially, of 73 officers and crew and 191 passengers, only 46 were rescued (16 crew and 30 passengers), while 217 died. The exact number remains unknown since, at the time, it was customary to board the ship without a ticket, which would only be issued upon sailing.
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amidst high waves and heavy winds that were steadily gaining speed. As the ship was rolling heavily from side to side, passengers began awakening in their cabins and children started crying. Cars were rocking back and forth, and the ship started taking on water.
135:
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Port authorities of Souda Bay who monitored the violent weather throughout the day had prohibited smaller vessels from leaving, but it was believed wrongly that such weather was not a threat to a ship of
715:. None of the ships attracted buyers and so were laid up for 20 years before being sold for scrap and broken up in Turkey in 1989. In the meantime, the badly rusted
358:
180:
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was shown in many movie theaters in Athens, promoting the
Typaldos ships as: "The most luxurious, the most advanced and, of course, the safest.", with the
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to sink. At 02:07, the alarm was sounded. Life jackets were handed around hastily and the life boats were lowered desperately into the thunderous waves.
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At 2:13 a.m., only eight minutes after the first SOS, Heraklion's radio emitted a signal for the final time. "SOS, we're sinking! Coordinates are
886:
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is at your service." The King replied, "Thank you. Please follow me," as the airplanes spotted the few survivors and began air dropping life jackets.
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docked at the port of
Piraeus, where a large crowd had gathered to seek information and to wait for the rescue ships carrying survivors and bodies.
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and other islands also reported that they were unable to offer assistance due to lack of equipment. Unfortunately, the ferry
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At 8:00 p.m. on 7 December 1966, and during extreme weather conditions, with southeast winds blowing at Force 9 on the
462:
being the company's favourite in the advertisement, terming it: "The unmatched ferry
Heraklion, with a speed of 17 knots."
98:
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326:, resulting in the death of more than 200 people. Its demise was one of the greatest maritime disasters of Greek history.
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411:(31 km/h; 20 mph). The ship's winter capacity was 35 trucks with an average weight of 10 tons.
66:
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619:, realising that the King himself was participating with the rescue operation, radioed: "Your Highness,
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At 9:45 a.m, the first C-47 Skytrain arrived at the scene and located the refrigerator truck, while
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was underequipped to handle the necessary communications, while the port authorities of
Piraeus,
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At 2:00 a.m., halfway through the voyage, sailing six miles off the small rocky island of
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at the time of the sinking, participated with the search and rescue operations. They included
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Once
Typaldos Line took ownership, it was refitted as a passenger/car ferry. The ship had an
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service. In 1964 it was sold to the Aegean Steam
Navigation Co to operate as part of their
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20:
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811:
Papanikolaou, Apostolos; Boulougouris, Evangelos; Sklavenitis, Alexandros (2014).
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warships northeast of Crete, received the SOS and altered course for the scene.
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One of the dead was Michael Robert Hall King (born 1942), a grandson of
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life. The premier declared a week-long period of national mourning.
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was alerted, followed by the Minister of Mercantile Marine and the
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that, according to most accounts, contributed to the sinking.
27:
527:! SOS, we're sinking!" After that message there was silence.
558:. The Ministry of Defence reported that a ship of the then-
813:"The sinking of the Ro–Ro passenger ferry SS Heraklion"
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was used in 1978–1979 as a floating set for the movie
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900:
58:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
16:
Greek car ferry which sank in the Aegean Sea (1966)
454:size. The same night, an advertisement from the
253:8,922 t (8,781 long tons; 9,835 short tons)
550:At around 2:30 a.m., the commander of the
359:Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
181:Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
880:
8:
740:to commemorate the victims of the accident.
580:was ordered to sea, while an hour later the
588:was alerted. At 06:30 the Premier informed
318:(Irakleio) between 1965 and 1966. The ship
887:
873:
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697:or sold off for other uses, except three;
373:for some time to supplement its London to
895:Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1966
118:Learn how and when to remove this message
592:about the disaster. At 7:20 a.m. a
777:
535:The SOS signal was repeated twice. The
293:(sometimes spelled out in books as the
732:During the 1990s a sculpture known as
600:; soon after, two more followed suit.
584:was informed of the situation and the
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403:of 8,922 tons, propelled by a single
152:
7:
56:adding citations to reliable sources
817:International Shipbuilding Progress
537:Greek Ministry of Mercantile Marine
322:and sank on 8 December 1966 in the
14:
230:Capsized and sank 8 December 1966
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1367:
736:was erected near the harbour in
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133:
32:
43:needs additional citations for
1407:Ships built on the River Clyde
1:
750:List of RORO vessel accidents
729:for the duration of filming.
488:At 2:06 a.m., the first
1412:Shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea
1397:Maritime incidents in Greece
395:of 498 feet (152 m), a
361:in Glasgow in 1949, for the
485:started to develop a list.
399:of 60 ft (18 m),
365:to operate the route UK to
281:(31 km/h; 20 mph)
171:Aegean Steam Navigation Co.
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1402:Maritime incidents in 1966
369:. It was chartered by the
18:
1362:
1265:February (unknown date):
851:Wreck site – SS Heraklion
407:, reaching a speed of 17
234:
147:
132:
1107:October (unknown date):
734:The Monument of the Hand
261:498 ft (152 m)
19:Not to be confused with
1096:August (unknown date):
856:Search and rescue video
641:ships, deployed in the
235:General characteristics
1286:April (unknown date):
401:gross register tonnage
343:
269:60 ft (18 m)
823:(1 & 2): 80–102.
594:Douglas C-47 Skytrain
337:
244:Roll-on/roll-off ship
1011:May (unknown date):
552:Hellenic Coast Guard
465:After midnight, the
306:operating the lines
52:improve this article
682:Robert Baden-Powell
573:At 4:30 a.m.,
556:Minister of Defence
511: /
829:10.3233/ISP-130109
786:"Person Page 6360"
639:United States Navy
568:British Royal Navy
441:refrigerator truck
371:British India Line
344:
1384:
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1307:June–July:
1172:Daniel J. Morrell
1100:Maurice J. Manuel
722:Raise the Titanic
643:Mediterranean Sea
515:36.867°N 24.133°E
469:was crossing the
419:on 29 June 1966.
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788:. Thepeerage.com
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590:King Constantine
560:Greek Royal Navy
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1258:Other incidents
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206:8 December 1966
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663:James C. Owens
596:took off from
532:
531:Rescue efforts
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520:36.867; 24.133
456:Typaldos Lines
429:Beaufort scale
424:
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393:overall length
379:Typaldos Lines
354:Leicestershire
340:Leicestershire
331:
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67:"SS Heraklion"
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69: –
68:
64:
63:Find sources:
57:
53:
47:
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41:This article
39:
35:
30:
29:
26:
22:
21:SS Herakleion
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1289:Michelangelo
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1202:Agia Varvara
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1132:George Weems
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840:. Retrieved
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790:. Retrieved
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637:A number of
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250:Displacement
211:Reclassified
190:29 June 1949
140:
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88:
81:
74:
62:
50:Please help
45:verification
42:
25:
1309:Loss of MV
1247:Flying Gull
1127:White Eagle
940:Rexton Kent
924:Bright Star
842:19 February
765:Sea Diamond
518: /
471:Myrtoan Sea
375:East Africa
1417:1949 ships
1391:Categories
902:Shipwrecks
805:References
381:, renamed
363:Bibby Line
330:Background
324:Aegean Sea
195:In service
108:April 2011
78:newspapers
1321:Hanseatic
1311:Alva Cape
1277:USS
1233:USS
1222:USS
1211:USS
1192:Heraklion
1116:USS
1098:USS
1056:USS
1045:USS
1034:USS
1013:USS
982:USS
975:USS
950:Sand Star
837:0020-868X
792:13 August
772:Citations
688:Aftermath
668:USS
661:USS
654:USS
647:USS
626:At 19:00
609:HMS
586:Air Force
483:Heraklion
479:Falkonera
467:Heraklion
460:Heraklion
449:Heraklion
437:Souda Bay
433:Heraklion
413:Heraklion
405:propeller
385:Heraklion
348:Heraklion
316:Heraklion
304:car ferry
290:Heraklion
141:Heraklion
1339:25 Nov:
1332:Oriskany
1328:26 Oct:
1296:10 May:
1275:21 Apr:
1268:Beberibe
1220:30 Dec:
1209:18 Dec:
1199:12 Dec:
1179:30 Nov:
1169:29 Nov:
1159:11 Nov:
1149:10 Nov:
1139:15 Oct:
1125:11 Oct:
1086:14 Sep:
1079:Darlwyne
1075:31 Jul:
1065:25 Jul:
1054:13 Jul:
1043:11 Jul:
1036:Stalwart
1032:25 Jun:
1022:10 Jun:
1001:26 May:
991:24 May:
970:Costance
967:21 Apr:
957:11 Mar:
937:22 Feb:
930:Mi Amigo
921:20 Jan:
912:MV
910:10 Jan:
763:MS
755:MS
744:See also
699:SS
656:Bordelon
649:Lawrence
628:Leverton
320:capsized
299:) was a
296:Iraklion
277:17
219:Homeport
187:Launched
167:Operator
1318:7 Sep:
1279:Gantner
1213:Colahan
1189:8 Dec:
1182:Pionere
1068:Koula F
1025:Dixmude
994:Kaitawa
947:4 Mar:
727:Titanic
717:Athinai
711:and MV
708:Athinai
582:premier
562:was at
503:36°52′N
423:Sinking
308:Piraeus
177:Builder
148:History
92:scholar
1235:Corson
1152:Shibam
1118:Suisun
1047:Naifeh
1015:Tingey
835:
738:Chania
701:Hellas
670:Strong
666:, and
632:Ashton
621:Ashton
617:Ashton
611:Ashton
506:24°8′E
452:'s
417:survey
312:Chania
258:Length
161:Greece
94:
87:
80:
73:
65:
1342:Doris
1298:RMMV
1109:USNS
977:Lewis
858:from
713:Rodos
695:scrap
577:Syros
564:Syros
545:Minos
541:Syros
409:knots
367:Burma
274:Speed
99:JSTOR
85:books
1378:1967
1365:1965
1330:USS
1129:/ex-
844:2022
833:ISSN
794:2012
630:and
575:RHS
397:beam
266:Beam
240:Type
227:Fate
214:1964
198:1949
71:news
1089:Hai
1077:MV
960:Evi
860:ERT
825:doi
706:SS
490:SOS
383:SS
357:by
352:SS
346:SS
338:SS
288:SS
139:SS
54:by
1393::
1244:,
1238:,
1114:,
980:,
973:,
927:,
831:.
821:61
819:.
815:.
704:,
684:.
673:.
659:,
652:,
431:,
388:.
310:–
279:kn
888:e
881:t
874:v
846:.
827::
796:.
342:.
121:)
115:(
110:)
106:(
96:·
89:·
82:·
75:·
48:.
23:.
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