In
January
of 1915 the ship is christen S.S. Tuscania and the traditional bottle of
Champagne is broken on the bow. The Tuscania is launched into service. On
the maiden voyage the Tuscania arrived in New York February 16, 1915. The
ship returned to Glasgow, Scotland February 20th 1915. The Ship continued
sailing between New York and British ports as a passenger and supply ship.
Thursday September 16th, 1915 the
National Greek Lines Ship "Athinai" under the command of Captain Nicolas
Boyasido, departed from New York with 408 passengers and crew. The Athinai
was sailing to several ports within the Mediterranean, such as the ports in
Alexandria, Egypt and Piraeus, Greece. About 3 days out at sea, it is
believed that an incendiary bomb ignited a fire in their cargo hold, in
which the hatches were sealed and none of the passengers had access. It is
believed that the bomb was placed in the cargo hold by German sympathizers,
as the Athinai fire broke out in nearly the same spot where the Italian
Ocean Liner "St. Anna" was ignited by incendiary fuses placed in her cargo
hold apparently by Austro-German agents. The sudden outbreak of the fire
certainly caught everyone aboard by surprise on the morning of September
19th, 1915. The wireless operator sent out a frantic S.O.S. distress signal
over the wireless telegraph.
At 8:30 a.m. on the morning of
the 19th, of Sept. the wireless operator of the British ship Tuscania picks
up the SOS distress call from the Athinai. The Tuscania was bound for New
York, but diverted its course to answer the distress call. By noon the
Tuscania arrives, her Captain, Peter McLean, orders a rescue party sent over
to the Athinai. Between the time frame in which the fire was discovered and
the Tuscania arriving at the scene, 3-4 hours later, it is unclear what
actions were taken on the Athinai to control the fire.
The Tuscania's crew had been
constantly trained for fire drills, her owners fearing trouble with bombs,
and the ship being equipped with smoke helmets, and extinguishers, had been
sent over to try and put out the fire. A Bos'n of the Tuscania whom had
made it down into the Athinai cargo hold, messaged back over his helmet
telephone that the bulkheads might give way at any moment, and that their
was imminent danger that the boat would sink.
Lifeboats were immediately
lowered. Passengers began abandoning the ship at about 4:00 p.m.. The
Tuscania crew held back the steerage passengers and sailors, until the women
and children were off. For a time a riot seemed imminent, but the Tuscania's
men clubbed the disturbers into submission. Three of the passengers and one
seaman secured a boat of their own, and rowed the boat to the Tuscania. The
seaman was immediately put in irons.
The Romanian Prince whom also
heard and responded to the distress signal arrived shortly after the
Tuscania did. The Romanian Prince rescued 61 crew members, while the
Tuscania had rescued 408 passengers and crew. Only one person from the
Athinai was lost, Tomasco Sotanio, a second class passenger, he had heart
failure from all the excitement, and fell overboard. When the last person
was taken off, the Athinai, it was afire from stem to stern, the time was
8:30 p.m.
Captain McLean reports that they
did not leave the wreck until 10:30 p.m. and that the wreck was still
burning furiously. He reports the position in which the Athinai was sinking:
40.54 North Latitude, 58.47 West Longitude. This position is somewhat near
where the Titanic sank.
Note: It is hard to believe that
a ship could burn so long and stay afloat. However, more recently in 1994,
the
Achille Lauro burned
at sea for 3 days before sinking.
