Jupiter Cruise Liner sunk 1988

[Paul Rogers]

I would appreciate anyone being able to provide links to information on the Jupiter. Some details I have been able to find on the Net are annotated below.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a young lady who, at the age of 18, was on board this ship when it was rammed and sunk in 1988. She was very interested in obtaining information on the ship, and I promised her I'd have a dig around.

I've found a lot of old newspaper records which mention the incident in passing, and I've even seen an old video of the incident as reported on BBC News at the time. However, information appears quite scarce, probably because only 4 people died in the disaster.

If anyone can point me to further research sources, (especially photographs), I would be very grateful.

Thanks,

Paul.

DETAILS OF THE DISASTER:

Jupiter cruise liner/school ship; 7,800 GRT; 126m long; 585 passengers/crew; Greek registry; built 1961; Sunk: October 21, 1988 near Piraeus (Greece).

The ship was struck by car carrier Adige in the engine room, heeled quickly and lost power. Lifeboats were unusable due to list. Ship sank in 40 minutes. Most passengers and crew transferred to small craft as water level came up to upper decks, but 25 children floated off when ship sank and were immediately picked up. 4 fatalities - one crewmember had a heart attack, another struck his head on a rescue tugboat, and two were missing."

 

[Paul Rogers]

As there are now many more Message Board members than in October, I thought I'd ask the above question again, to see if someone out there can help.

If anyone can provide information or links, (or even pictures!), I'd be very grateful.

Regards,
Paul.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Hi Paul I have been searching all week for Jupiter- try this link for about everything with a funnel- there are so many links I have not had time to check them all- I love a challenge!
http://www.goodwoodcourt.org/latrobe/liners.htm

 

[Paul Rogers]

Hi Shelley.

You're a star! Thanks for that link. Looks like I've got to put in a bit of surfin' time over the weekend!

Regards,
Paul.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Hi Paul- here's what I have on Jupiter to date- will post in short paragraphs as I seem to get signed off during long postings. All this from Bob Frump via webandwire.com. JUPITER:
BBC reports "The boat according to some reports had been condemned."
Sept. 27 2000 "Greek ferry noted as a grime-bucket" British tourists had been warned by a guidebook to avoid the vessel. Built in 1966 it was one of the oldest ships on the tourist routes from Piraeus to the Cyclades archipelago.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

The Express Samina ferry had an unenviable rep even before it sank near Paros with more than 500 people on board... formerly belonging to a French ferry company she had been operatng since the mid- 1980's in Greece.
Until early this year she was known as the Golden Verginia but was then sold to Minoan Flying Dolphins/Hellas Ferries and renamed and refurbished.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

The Greek island-hopping guide warned readers against using the ferry as she is reaching the 35 year age limit for Greek ferries. The Greek government has ordered a criminal investigation into the accident. Public prosecutors ordered the arrest of the ship's captain, Vassilis Yannakis, his lieutenant, Anastasios Psychoyos and 3 other crew members. Coast Guard officials were baffled as to why the 115m , 4, 407 ton ferry hit the Portes islet, a large, rocky outcropping which is marked on marine charts and has a navigation light.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

The captain of another ferry says he makes the same run every day and cannot remember anyone ever hitting there. Jupiter's captain took 20 minutes to call the Coast Guard to tell the ship was sinking. The last sinking in this region was 1966 when the British built Heraklion sank in the Aegean Sea with the loss of 180 lives. A fire on board the Heleanna 3 years later cost 26 lives, and in Nov. 1999 a blaze on the new Greek passenger ship Superfast III left 10 Kurdish immigrants dead. 475 British children were rescued from the Greek liner Jupiter in 1988 in one of the most miraculous escapes of recent times- she sank outside of Athens.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Jupiter cruise liner- 7,8000 GRT 126 m long, 585 passengers/crew Greek registry built 1961 CASUALTY October 21, 1988 near Piraeus. Ship was struck by a car carrier Adige in engine room, heeled quickly and lost power. Lifeboats were unusable due to list. Ship sank in 40 minutes. Most passengers and crew transferred to small craft as water level came up to the upper decks but 25 children floated off when the ship sank and were picked up. 4 fatalities. One crewman had a heart attack and another struck his head on a rescue tugboat- 2 went missing. So here's what I have on BOTH Jupiters- ferry and liner.

 

[Paul Rogers]

Shelley,

Apologies for taking so long to reply (I've not visited the site for a while - various reasons) and thank you for taking the time to post this information.

I'm still looking for photos of the ship (floating or sunk) so if you find any out there, please let me know.

Thanks again Shelley. This info really is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Paul.

 

[sashiplover]

i found this report

 

[sashiplover]

i was trying to source the same - and lo and behold - there is a facebook page - jupiter the survivors group dedicated to the story

 

[sashiplover]

a book was written about the tragic sinking