MS ''Prinsendam'', was a
Holland-America Line cruise ship built at Shipyard de Merwede in the
Netherlands in 1973. She was long and typically carried about 350 passengers and 200 crew members.
Sinking
''Prinsendam'' departed
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada, on 30 September 1980 for a long cruise that would take her along the
Inside Passage of British Columbia and
Southeast Alaska
Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...
and then to
East Asia and
Southeast Asia. After calling at
Ketchikan,
Alaska, on 2 October and visiting
Glacier Bay on 3 October, she set out into the
Gulf of Alaska on the evening of 3 October bound for
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. She was approximately south of
Yakutat, Alaska, at 12:40 a.m. on 4 October 1980 when a fire broke out in her
engine room.
[Kiffer, Dave, "A Cruise Ship Goes Down," sitnews.us, October 10, 2015 Accessed 8 July 2023]
/ref> Her master, Cornelis Dirk Wabeke (13 April 1928 – 16 August 2011), declared the fire out of control one hour later and ''Prinsendam'' sent a radio call requesting immediate assistance. The United States Coast Guard at Communications Station Kodiak in Kodiak Kodiak may refer to:
Places
*Kodiak, Alaska, a city located on Kodiak island
* Kodiak, Missouri, an unincorporated community
*Kodiak Archipelago, in southern Alaska
*Kodiak Island, the largest island of the Kodiak archipelago
** Kodiak Launch Com ...
, Alaska, requested that ''Prinsendam'' send out an SOS
is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...
to alert other vessels in the area, but Wabeke declined. Chief Radio Officer Jack van der Zee sent one out anyway about a half-hour later.
U.S. Coast Guard, United States Air Force Air Rescue Service, and Canadian Armed Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
Air Command CH-113 helicopters, which had greater range, rescued the passengers and crew. The rescue took place during a period of steadily deteriorating weather.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutters
Cutter may refer to:
Tools
* Bolt cutter
* Box cutter, aka Stanley knife, a form of utility knife
* Cigar cutter
* Cookie cutter
* Glass cutter
* Meat cutter
* Milling cutter
* Paper cutter
* Side cutter
* Cutter, a type of hydraulic rescue to ...
, , and responded in concert with other vessels in the area, and the American tankers
Tanker may refer to:
Transportation
* Tanker, a tank crewman (US)
* Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids
** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk
** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...
''Sohio Intrepid'' and ''Williamsburgh'' assisted on scene. ''Williamsburgh'' served a vital role as a communications platform and was the first vessel to arrive on scene and take passengers on board. The ''Sohio Intrepid'' served as a platform for one of the U.S. Air Force helicopters that was unable to refuel in flight. Two U.S. Air Force pararescuemen went aboard one of ''Prinsendam''′s lifeboats, and this boat was the last rescued after a lookout aboard ''Woodrush'', Seaman
Seaman may refer to:
* Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew
* Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies
* Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name)
* ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
Louis Roderick, sighted a flare from the boat and word of the sighting was relayed to the on-scene commander aboard ''Boutwell''.
The rescue is particularly noteworthy because of the distance traveled by the rescuers, the coordination of independent organizations, and the fact that all 520 passengers and crew were rescued without loss of life or serious injury.
References
External links
*David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA, Radio Officer, "T/T WILLIAMSBURGH"
"SOS from ms PRINSENDAM - Marine Radio History - Morse Code"
August 17, 2018.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prinsendam (1972)
1980 in Alaska
1972 ships
Maritime incidents in 1980
Ship fires
Ships built in the Netherlands
Ships of the Holland America Line
Shipwrecks of the Alaska coast
Ships sunk with no fatalities