Fokeman 17th Sep 2021
| | This was recorded in 1969 and sold on board the SS Homeric and only 14 years later while the ship was still in beautiful condition with works of art on board and beautifully made, it reached the end of its career as a cruise ship. Sadly the kitchen caught fire.
"On the night of July 1, 1973, there was a very bad surprise. We were sailing from New York to the Caribbean, with destination Port au Prince (Haiti); at Cape Hatteras, the sea was calm, but there was a thick fog, which reduced visibility to zero. The captain was with us on the bridge and we were concentrated in front of the radars because the area was crossed by fishing boats and motor boats. The silence was interrupted every two minutes by the ship's siren, which signaled our presence at sea in fog. Suddenly the fire alarm sounded on the bridge.
It was 03.55 am on July 1, 1973 , the electric horn light signaled a fire alarm.
I avoid describing the various phases of the extinguishing operations in order not to enter a sea of technicalities ... The kitchen was completely destroyed and it was necessary to reverse the route and go back to put the ship in safety.
The crew was all Italian, except for the Chinese in the laundry.
the Commander was called Alberto MAROSSA of LA SPEZIA and the Second Commander was Lorenzo ANTOLA (Lolly) of CAMOGLI (both deceased).
The news of the fire was broadcast on all American TV. I remember the wonderful interview given by the first American passenger who got off the ship: “ if HOMERIC leaves again in the next few days, I will be the first passenger to board”.
These words made us feel proud of what we had done. There were no injuries on board and the ship returned to New York by its own means. We had shown all of America what ITALIANS can do!
Even today, the secret of the success achieved can only be explained by the love that the whole crew felt for that ship that while it was on fire wept with despair, tripling the force to fight the fire.
Unfortunately, due to the damage suffered by the heat given off by the flames, the ship had irreparable damage to the upper deck which was completely deformed.
After several appraisals and investigations, the owner decided to sell the S / S HOMERIC to a Scrapping Yard in Taiwan.
We all suffered from that inevitable decision!
I was first security officer then. The HOMERIC was a very luxurious ship; everything was precious on that ship: the furnishings were of a "classic" type, the halls were full of works of art: famous paintings and sculptures, tapestries and superfine brocades. I have never seen such a wealth of art on board the new ships. An era was over! From the beautiful ships we passed to the FUN SHIPS.
Taken from the website SS Homeric |