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Passing Ships in the Sea - An Ode’ to Capt. Aad Hess
Recalling the Largest Land/Sea Rescue in the History of the Sea’s
One of the proudest days of my service in the U.S. Merchant
Marine was the very memorable day to be part of the largest land/sea
rescue in the history of the sea’s!
On October 4, 1980 in the Gulf of Alaska, as a merchant sailor on
the Sohio Intrepid I was fortunate to be part of a herculean effort to
rescue the 519 passengers and crew of the Holland American Lines
passenger ship Prisendam.
On that fateful day, the families of the passengers and crew,
against very difficult odds, were fortunate to get their loved ones back
home and have a 2nd chance at life together.
It is with great pride to report that in the fall of this year it
will be 34 years since the sinking of the Dutch passenger liner
Prisendam in the Gulf of Alaska. Although this story is belated for me
after three and a half decades, for the 329 mostly American passengers,
164 Indonesian crew members, and 26 Dutch officers it is a day that will
forever live in their memories.
For those on the Prisendam en-route to the Far East in October of
1980 all onboard owe their lives to the efforts of the United States
Coast Guard, the U.S. Air Force, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the
United States Merchant Marine whose combined efforts were integral with
this historic rescue mission.
U.S. Coast Guard historians record the rescue mission of the
Prisendam as one of the greatest example of the U.S. Coast Guard
completing their mission to “save lives!” The rescue example is
considered second only to the USCG combined response to Hurricane
Katrina. For without the heroic roles of the combined rescue units that
responded certain death awaited the lucky passengers and crew of the
Prisendam.
The fire that consumed the Prisendam is considered an
international Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) fire safety test case for
adherence to maritime fire standards. The Prisendam was built according
to the requirements of IMCO Resolution A-122(V) for structural fire
protection, requirements which were later incorporated into the 1974
SOLAS guidelines.
The Prisendam was not equipped with a sprinkler system; however
none were required due to the ship being constructed with as few
combustible materials as possible. The ship had fire-resistant doors and
insulated steel bulkheads. The doors and bulkheads contained the blaze
long enough for the passengers to abandon ship.
The now maritime fire safety case raised safety issues for the 65 passenger ships that regularly call on American ports.
The Prisendam was equipped with a swimming pool, a restaurant, 3
bars, a cinema, a shopping center, and 209 staterooms. The fire was
reported to have started as a high pressure fuel supply line ruptured
causing diesel fuel to spill on to the main engine #2’s exhaust manifold
which, in turn started an engine room fire. Fortunately the passenger
ship itself became the only casualty to the internationally studied fire
at sea.
The Prisendam was built at a cost of $27m at the ‘De Merwede’
Dockyard and Machine Factory in Hardinxveld-Giesendam, the Netherlands.
The ship was launched by Holland American Lines in November of 1973. The
Prisendam was the pride of the fleet and built for Indonesia cruises in
the winter and Alaskan cruises in the summer.
I dedicate this story as an “Ode’ to Capt. Aad Hess” who served
as the Senior Captain of the Prisendam and upheld the rich 141 year
maritime tradition of Holland American Lines for many years at sea.
During the sinking of his ship senior Captain Hess was home with his
family on his scheduled time off. However 8 years after this largest
land/sea rescue in the Gulf of Alaska, Capt. Hess upholding that rich
Holland American Lines maritime tradition saved my life as the Captain
of the sister ship Nieuw Amsterdam in the Gulf of Mexico which allowed
me to tell this story of “Passing Ships in the Sea!”
Although many well deserved awards were presented for heroism,
Admiral Richard Knapp of the USCG and Capt. Cornelius Wabeke of the
Prisendam stand as the silent unsung heroes of the Prisendam rescue
mission.
Captain Wabeke exhibited a text book case for upholding Holland
American Lines rich maritime tradition in exhibiting leadership,
literally under fire, to keep the passengers in the fresh air and safety
of the deck and ordering the passengers to the lifeboats in a timely
method that took in the fire conditions, sea conditions, daylight, and
rescue capability.
Admiral Richard Knapp provided the deck of the CC Boutwell for
award ceremonies honoring others throughout Alaska the following year,
but it is important to note the leadership role of Admiral Knapp whose
years of USCG experience provided the wisdom to make the logistic
decisions to successfully oversee saving 519 lives.
Admiral Knapp’s prudence in choosing the rescue staging site of
the oil tanker Williamsburgh equipped with a helicopter pad, and
accommodations for the 500 passengers, while simultaneously coordinating
the sealift capability and critical personnel decisions was integral
with the mission’s success.
These actions were provided on a world stage under the glare of
international media coverage presenting a challenging role for the U.S.
Coast Guard. The USCG under the leadership of Admiral Knapp rose to the
challenge with the greatest single incident example of the Coast Guard
living up to its motto of “saving lives!” With the increased prominence
of the U.S. Coast Guard’s role to defend our nation since 9/11 this
branch of service is long overdue for just recognition of its service,
and the outstanding performance of its duty officers.
In hindsight the appropriate guy to compose an “Ode” in memory of
the heroes of the Prisendam is not this sailor but the young upstart
pianist Yiannis Hrysomallis whose life was saved onboard the 427 foot,
9,000 ton ocean liner while entertaining the Prisendam passengers for
the long cruise to the Far East.
The pianist is known today too many Americans as “Yanni.” For
without the combined efforts of the USCG, Air Force, Canadians, and
Merchant Marine the world may not have experienced the 2nd
best-selling music video of all time, “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis,”
nor would all of the Olympic Games since 1988 have the Greek-born
Yanni’s music compositions for international broadcast of the games.
More importantly for those locally in Beverly Hills who are close to the
entertainment industry, public television may not have had in Yanni one
of the top fundraisers of all time for public television viewers.
At approximately 1 AM in the early morning hours of October 4,
1980 the U.S. Coast Guard received the following distress call at its
Sitka Communications Center, “passenger ship Prisendam position 57
degrees, 38 minutes N, 140 degrees -25 minutes west. Fire engine room.
Flooding engine room with carbon dioxide. Conditions unknown. Passengers
320 crew 190.”
At approximately 2 AM onboard my oil tanker the Sohio Intrepid
which was enroute to Valdez for a load of oil. I was awoken by a call
for “all hands on deck” by the 12-4 able-bodied seaman Tanker-Jack
Mayerle, a grizzly veteran of WWII who had survived the battle of Anzio
with General George Patton. Tanker Jack flipped on my overhead light and
yelled “all hands on deck” “There’s a sinking passenger ship!” Tanker
Jack got a shoe thrown at him in my room. All hands I could hear were
gathering in the galley for coffee laughing about Tanker-Jack arousing
our ship with the unusual call that a passenger ship was sinking in the
Gulf of Alaska. The crew of the Sohio Intrepid were skeptical of the
ships joker who was a seasoned China coaster from WWII. 72 year old
Tanker-Jack, was often witnessed doing hand stands on the steel decks
for over a half hour. The crew rudely awoken by Tanker Jack’s call for
“all hands’ were snapped into reality when viewing in the distance the
sight of the burning Prisendam on the horizon.
In the early morning hour of 1 AM on Oct. 4, 1980 the Prisendam
was situated about 150 miles west of Sitka, Alaska. The Prisendam’s
Captain Cornelius Wabeke received a call from the vessel’s Chief
Engineer Albert Boot that there was a fire in the engine room.
A short time later passenger Richard Steel, the publisher of the
Worcester, Massachusetts Telegram-Gazette records for history that over
the Prisendam loudspeaker system came the voice of Captain Cornelius
Wabeke saying, “this is your Captain speaking. We have a small fire in
the engine room. It is under control but for your safety, please report
to the promenade deck.”
At about 1:30 AM Capt. Wabeke was visited on the bridge by Chief
Engineer Boot who recommended the engine room be cleared and flooded
with CO2 to extinguish the fire that had advanced rapidly from a
ruptured fuel line spraying on an unpadded manifold.
Capt. Wabeke ordered all passengers and crew to report to the
lifeboat stations due to the fire in the engine room that they were
hopeful would extinguish with a concerted effort to inject CO2 into the
engine room.
Standing over on the deck of the Prisendam was southern
California attorney John Gyorkas dressed in his black velvet three-piece
tuxedo with shiny black shoes still in his formal wear from a night of
dinner and entertainment onboard the cruise as it navigated the choppy
waters of the Gulf of Alaska. California attorney Gyorkas didn’t have
the time to change clothes as did many of the other passengers mostly
senior citizens who were unfortunately in their nightgowns and pajama’s.
California Counselor Gyorkas was appropriately dressed for dinner at
the Lido Restaurant and late night cocktails at the Prisendam Bar who
now were open giving out free drinks!
Added to the fact that most passengers were scantily dressed in
night gowns the National Weather Service reported that gale force winds
were coming in from the east at 35 knots that were accompanied by 14
foot seas
.
Through my binoculars I could see firsthand the importance to the
USCG mandatory lifeboat training drills. My ship the Sohio Intrepid
enroute to Valdez from San Francisco was traveling light to receive a
load of black oil.
The supertanker M/V Williamsburgh was a God send to happen to be
nearby the Prisendam in the Gulf of Alaska. Not only did the
Williamsburgh have a helicopter pad, but also was loaded with fuel and
low and buoyant in the water, and more importantly had the
accommodations to house 500 passengers. The other merchant marine vessel
to respond was the container vessel the Portland bound for Anchorage.
Back on the Prisendam deck stood Mrs. Henry Fields of Dorset
Vermont, who was quoted as saying, “I have enough fresh air and cold air
for the next year.” And if I get through this, “I don’t think I want to
go in even a canoe from now on!” Friends of Mr. & Mrs. Fields were
survivors of another ill-fated cruise ship the Andrea Doria that sank
two decades earlier.
The Coast Guard vessels that responded were the USCG cutter
Boutwell a 378 ft. high endurance cutter that had moored in Juneau as
part of the city’s centennial celebration and needed a round-up at the
Juneau bars to muster the crew for the order of “all hands back to the
ship”. The Boutwell cast off from the Port of Juneau and once clear of
the shipping channel proceeded with open throttle at 27 knots towards
the burning Prisendam. The Boutwell was designated as the command ship
and supported by the C.C. Woodrush a 180 ft. buoy tender home ported in
Sitka; and the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon a 378 ft. vessel home ported in
Seattle that was enroute to an offshore fisheries patrol and diverted
to the scene.
Standing on the open air deck of the Prisendam Isabella and
Irving Brex of Seattle reported they were awakened when they felt a
shock or explosion on the port side of the ship. The first of a few
explosions that were contained within the engine room “state of the art”
fire proof bulkheads which were built to confirm with the safety
standards of the 1960 International Convention for the Safety of Life at
Sea (SOLAS). Holland American Lines had safety features that were
ahead of its time in 1980.
Nowhere in the volumes of press about the sinking of the
Prisendam was this important safety factor mentioned. However it is
important to note that due to the Prisendam’s “state of the art” fire
proof bulkheads installed in the early 70’s by Holland America Lines
engineer team, that critical feature led to passenger safety and
prevented engine room personnel casualties while the fire raged onboard.
Irving and Isabella Brex were prudent enough to dress quickly and
warmly before reporting to the promenade deck as ordered by the
Captain. Isabella and Irving took their life jackets and walked out onto
the rear fan deck with Irving being quoted as saying, “he was shocked
to see so many people still in night clothes!”
Also joining the rescue effort was Four H-3 helicopters, two from
Air Stations Sitka and two from Kodiak. These helicopters were critical
to the mission as they are equipped with twin jet engines and can hoist
a rescue basket or harness while hovering over open water. 2 HC-130
cargo planes were dispatched from the Coast Guard station in Kodiak.
The Canadian Armed Forces responded in true maritime tradition
sending two CH-46 helicopters were supplied by the RCC Victoria. They
also sent two Canadian “Buffaloes” and were assigned and one “Argus” all
which were fixed wing aircraft.
In support of the rescue mission the US Air Force at Elmendorf
Air Force base provided an H-3 helicopter and an HC-130 re-fueler. These
resources were critical as the Coast Guard helicopters had to return to
land for fuel every couple of hours, however the US Air Force team
could stay on the scene with their fuel capacity for 12 hours. It would
fall upon the duty of Capt. John Walters of the U.S. Air Force to solve
the mystery into the foggy night of where was the elusive Prisendam
lifeboat number six?
Patiently milling about on the promenade deck of the Prisendam
was passenger Mrs. Teddie Friedinger from Detroit who was quoted with an
interesting observance that may have been a critical factor to the
rescue mission’s success. Teddie praised the performance and behavior of
the predominately senior citizen passengers. “There was no panic at
all,” the passengers were relatively calm throughout the ordeal. What
was amusing to Mrs. Fields and Mrs. Friedinger was a young tour guide
who tried her best to calm the passengers standing on the deck from 1 AM
till 6 AM asking the anxious passengers if “they have seen the
beautiful, beautiful sky?” The calm passengers had stood for hours
watching a “glittering display of the aurora borealis.”
However, the still of Mother Nature’s light display was broken
when Capt. Wabeke at the stroke of the 6 AM watch bells ordered,
“Abandon Ship!” All was not calm as Edna Marcus of Cleveland, Ohio was
coughing on the deck due to the billowing smoke coming out of the engine
room fire. Due to the thickness of the smoke Edna got separated from
her husband and they got loaded into separate lifeboats unsure of each
other’s safety until reunited at our celebration party at the hotel in
Valdez.
The majority of the Prisendam passengers were between the ages of
60 to 80 years old and had paid between $3600.00 and $5,000.00 for the
30 day cruise that truly ended up to be an unforeseen adventure of a
lifetime.
According to an old Hollywood tradition that the show must go on
many passengers moving about from the open deck to the Main Lounge and
the Lido Restaurant recalled that members of the ships’ cast in an
effort to calm the nervous passengers spontaneously sang in rousing
renditions of the musical Oklahoma and many Rodgers and Hammerstein
hits. An elderly lady was noted to be sipping from a whiskey flask
tucked into her purse as the smoke continued toward the Main Lounge from
the engine room.
Worcester Telegram-Gazette publisher Richard Steel noted that as
the crew ran up and down the stairs with fire-fighting equipment the
smoke increased in the direction of the dining room. Steel realized
there was no going back to get blankets or clothing in the cabins with
the thick black smoke that was pouring from the engine room.
The first rescue resource to arrive on the scene was a Coast Guard C-130 who at 4 AM on Saturday Oct. 4th
reported seeing flames and heavy smoke coming from the midsection of
the Prisendam. What was alarming was the fact that the ship had lost
power and therefore couldn’t generate the necessary water pressure to
operate the fire-fighting pumps and fight the fire onboard. The fire
began to spread forward towards the bridge of the ship which at 6 bells
prompted Captain Wabeke’s prudent order to abandon ship.
Six lifeboats, one covered motor launch, and four life rafts from
the Prisendam were used to carry the passengers and crew from the
burning vessel. The lifeboats were launched fortunately into 5 to 10
foot seas with 10 knot winds being reported. The mentioned timely
prudence of Capt. Wabeke to order “abandon ship” was due to his concern
of passenger safety with the impending storm conditions forecasted for
night fall by the National Weather Service.
The USCG Command Center under the direction of Admiral Richard
Knapp was aware that the rescue mission was time sensitive to get the
passengers to safety during the daylight hours due to the pending rough
weather conditions predicted after nightfall.
The process to abandon ship was not an orderly process and
unfolded with unforeseen glitches. Of the 6 lifeboats 4 were designed to
handle 65 passengers. The first boats were jammed with as many as 90
passengers. Four small inflatable rafts were launched carrying 25
people. The Prisendam’s motor launch what may be considered its best
emergency vessel got fouled on its davits by the Indonesian crew and
hung banging against the side of the Prisendam.
Coast Guard petty officer Michael Oliverson helped to illuminate a
lifeboat launching mishap with a floodlight from a Coast Guard
helicopter. Certainly the crew were working under severe distress! The
alert Officer Oliverson is credited with saving a lifeboat launch mishap
by blinking his floodlight and alerting the crew that they were
lowering one lifeboat directly into a lifeboat that was already
launched.
For newspaper publisher Steel from Massachusetts the lifeboat he
chose to descend into the sea got its cables jammed 30 feet above the 10
foot waves. Finally the cables were broken loose and the lifeboat fell
the remaining 20 feet into the water. He reported it took them nearly a
half hour to get away from the hull of the Prisendam because of motor
failure.
As the fire raged on into the early morning hours of August 4th the Prisendam began to list to the starboard side due to taking on water through the portholes.
Fortunately for all involved the supertanker Williamsburgh under
radio direction from the USCG Command Center arrived at the scene at
7:45 AM. The tanker was the largest oil tanker ever built in the United
States. It was coming south from the Alaskan oil terminal and was
carrying a full load of oil. It rode low in the water from its 65 foot
draft and literally represented a high degree of stability as the
staging site authorized by Admiral Knapp’s staff for the rescue
operation.
Coast Guard helicopter pilot Lt. Bruce Melnick was credited with
plucking nearly 110 survivors with his wire hoist cable and metal basket
from the lifeboats and putting them onto the Williamsburgh. It was
determined this was the safest process as the 40 foot climb up a rope
Jacob’s ladder along the side of the ship was too risky and strenuous
for the elderly passengers.
When the helicopter reached its weight limit from hoisting
survivors they would fly over and unload within 5 minutes on the deck of
the Williamsburgh and begin the process all over again.
As the day wore on the weather deteriorated steadily making the
hoisting operation more difficult. The winds increased from 5 knots to
25 knots and the sea’s increased from 10 foot to over 35 feet.
At 1:45 PM the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell arrived on the scene
and the tanker Williamsburgh was dispatched to head towards Valdez,
Alaska as the Coast Guard determined under the command of Admiral Knapp
that Valdez was the only port that could accommodate the 225,000 ton
tanker fully loaded with oil.
As luminous sky’s and deteriorating weather set in with
approaching darkness 6 helicopters simultaneously continued to airlift
survivors to safety. Taking over as the on-scene command the cutter
Boutwell used their motor surf boats to transfer the remaining survivors
from the Prisendam’s lifeboats.
By 8 PM everyone known was removed from the lifeboats and Captain
Wabeke and the remaining crew were recovered from the now severely
listing Prisendam.
With nightfall now setting in, only one lifeboat of survivors
remained unaccounted for in the now turbulent seas. The elusive lifeboat
number six with passengers and crew!
Not mentioned in any of the official rescue records was the
incredible human response from the good citizens of Yakutat, Alaska.
When Alaska State Trooper Warren Grant rang the fire bell in the early
Saturday morning hours nearly half of the 500 residents of the fishing
village that is 320 miles east from Anchorage responded and prepared to
do what they had never done before, taking part of in a land/sea relief
mission.
Yakutat resident Lani Mapes and her fisherman husband Ray
answered the call to help the Prisendam. The Yakutat residents made
tuna, fish, ham, and peanut butter sandwiches and took shifts serving
hot coffee to the wet and weary passengers rescued from the Prisendam’s
lifeboats. Yakutat resident Alice Bethei cooked up a giant order of
vegetable soup which she took to the airport and fed the passengers as
they awaited air travel to Sitka.
Mallots General store and Ryman’s Department store donated jeans
and socks to the wet passengers. The Lakeside Chapel St. Ann’s Catholic
Church and the Yakutat Presbyterian Church donated other clothing.
Yakutat Fire Chief Jerry Pond coordinated the many Yakutat volunteers
was excited how smooth the rescue operation went with so many coming
forward to help.
The Chief Mate of the Sohio Intrepid ordered two able-bodied (AB)
seaman to prepare wire and turnbuckles to lash down an Air Force PJ
helicopter that was cleared for an emergency landing on the narrow deck
of our oil tanker. There was a great risk in this landing as one spark
the vessel would have ignited by the combustible nature of an empty
gas-laden oil tanker.
A footnote to this rescue mission was another ocean tragedy that
would follow. Sohio Intrepid rescuer able-bodied seaman Philip Corl Jr.,
was the son of Capt. Phil Corl Sr., the Captain that would go down at
the wheel of the coal carrier Marine Electric off the coast of New
England two years later. Joining AB Phil Corl Jr. to lash down the
rescue helicopter was this author able-bodied seaman Ed Sullivan Jr.,
the son of Bosun Ed Sullivan Sr., a decorated naval gunner from the USS
Francis Scott Key that served in the “Forgotten Convoy,” to Murmansk.
After this rescue mission upon arrival of the Sohio Intrepid back
in the Port of Los Angeles Phil Corl Jr., & Ed Sullivan Jr. were
met at the dock by Capt. Phil Corl Sr. and taken to dinner to
congratulate us on doing “our part” in the Prisendam rescue mission.
Capt. Corl Sr., a professional mariner took the time over dinner to make
clear to two young sailors the importance of professionalism onboard
ship at sea.
Less than two years after that dinner to receive accolades for
service from Capt. Corl Sr., AB Ed Sullivan Jr. would keep sailor
tradition and sing “Fiddler’s Green” at the funeral service for the
Marine Electric crew who perished with Capt. Corl Sr. in the icy waters
off Virginia. Capt. Corl ordered Sullivan’s fellow National Maritime
Union member Dewey off the wheel and bravely took the helm of his ship
the Marine Electric into Davy Jones locker. Dewey dove off the wing of
the bridge and within one of his first swim strokes found a rope tied to
an inflatable life raft. Dewey jumped in the raft and was one of three
that lived owing his life to Capt. Corl Sr. It was the tragic Marine
Electric sinking that prompted a National Maritime lobbying effort with
Sen. Ted Kennedy who sponsored our legislation to provide survival suits
for each sailor on U.S. Flag ships.
Back in the Gulf of Alaska, with Holland American Lines passenger
liner Prisendam listing badly, Capt. John Walters and his Air Force
helicopter crew had lowered two "Para-rescue-men Jumpers" known as
"PJ's." Those “PJ’s” were Sgt. Rios and Sgt. Cassidy who entered the
lifeboat to assist the survivors along with a radio and 13 flares.
Capt. Walters was successful lowering the Air Force helicopter
projectile penetrator seat with Sgt. Rios in the #6 lifeboat loading
passengers and Sgt. Cassidy in the water preventing the penetrator seat
from banging and capsizing the lifeboat. After nearly 20 passengers
lifted from the lifeboat a wave swept the craft that snapped the
penetrator seat armature rendering it inoperable. Capt. Walters now low
on fuel and unable to remove passengers requested an emergency landing
on the deck of the Sohio Intrepid. Capt. Walters alertly noted the
latitude and longitude coordinates of the lost Prisendam lifeboat #6 and
was enroute to the Sohio Intrepid.
The Chief Mate of the Sohio Intrepid escorted Air Force Capt.
John Walters on the rolling sea washed deck to the safety of the bridge
of the ship to report the coordinates of the lost Prisendam lifeboat #6.
This information was critical and led to the rescue of the last 25-30
passengers that were left in the stormy seas of the Gulf of Alaska.
The alert computer technicians at the USCG Command inserted the
latitude and longitude of the last known coordinates, conveyed by Air
Force Capt. Walters from the bridge of the Sohio Intrepid. By inserting
those coordinates along with factoring for the set, drift, and weather
conditions allowed for an accurate computer projection to locate the
elusive lifeboat #6.
The Air Force tradition of not leaving men behind was being put
to the test. The Prisendam cruise photographer Terry Allen was in the
elusive lifeboat #6 and reported how Sgt. Cassidy and Sgt. Rios
“literally saved people’s lives.” The alert Air Force PJ’s aware of the
increased weather conditions due to the remnants of typhoon Vernon and
the now 35 foot sea’s and 40 knot winds rigged a tarpaulin over the
passengers to ward off the rain and sea spray from the swells.
Irving Brex from Seattle a diabetic who was prudent enough to
dress warmly was now suffering from shock due to not having received his
insulin shot. As darkness set in Irving reported he “forced himself to
stay awake and fought hallucinations a couple of times during the
night.”
On the Sohio Intredpid Capt. Walters expertly landed leaving just
inches to spare from keeping his tail blades from sparking on the Sohio
Intrepid hand rails. Now AB’s Sullivan and Corl lashed with wire and
turnbuckles the fortunate Air Force helicopter on deck as 35 knot winds
picked up and rain howled across the deck of the oil tanker.
Enclosed are pictures of the Air Force helicopter that located
the missing Prisendam lifeboat #6 and landed on the deck of the Sohio
Intrepid averting the need for the Air Force helicopter to ditch into
the sea due to lack of fuel to make land.
USAF and Sohio Intrepid each played a critical role to solve the mystery of where lifeboat #6 went in the now stormy sea?
With coordinates provided by the USCG Command Center the Coast
Guard cutter Boutwell was dispatched to turn back to sea and locate the
elusive Prisendam lifeboat #6. At approximately 1 AM on Sunday October 5th
the Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell’s sweeping searchlight cut through the
darkness and found the missing lifeboat #6. With Sgt. Rios shooting a
flare and Air Force veteran Cassidy using a survival mirror to bounce
the saving light from the Boutwell back to the vessel.
The watch officer of the Boutwell caught the flash of light and
edged up to the tossing lifeboat in 40 foot seas. It was most
appropriate that the Coast Guard cutter assigned as the on-site command
vessel for the mission would answer the “call to duty” and successfully
end the largest land/sea rescue in the history of the sea’s.
So many individuals were instrumental in the success of the
overall mission which resulted with no casualties. Such as, the medical
team airlifted to the Williamsburgh headed by Air Force doctor Don
Hudson and his makeshift medical team of paramedics, and firefighters
along with the Alaskan State Troopers who were airlifted out from the
Sitka Academy.
The Prisendam’s duty nurse Linda deserved honors for her tireless
dedication to passenger safety and health. Nurse Linda worked into the
night and was joined onboard the Williamburgh to attend to medical needs
of the survivors by retired Seattle school nurse Isabella Brex who in
her late 60’s survived the climb up the 40 foot rope ladder aside the
Williamsburgh to put her medical expertise to work in assisting the
survivors.
The medical staff was so critical in addressing imminent medical
needs and avert any casualties during the rescue mission. Air Force Dr.
Don Hudson treated a woman with an existing brain tumor, survivors that
had epileptic seizures, survivors that were dealing with terminal
cancer, and one survivor that endured the re-occurrence of a malaria
attack. Seven passengers were in advanced stages of hypothermia, three
of which it was estimated if they were exposed to the cold for even an
hour longer would have met certain death. Dr. Hudson verified a
passenger’s observation that if they had been dealing with passengers
under 35 years of age he is sure panic would have set in, but due to the
ironic fate of elderly passengers the older folks were considerably
calmer, and held things in perspective. All the individuals in the
medical team contributed to the overall success of the rescue mission.
One individual performance that is worthy of mention was U.S.
Coast Guard helicopter pilot Lt. Commander Robert A. Knapp (unrelated to
Rear Admiral Knapp). Lt. Knapp exhibited one of greatest single
examples of USCG credo to “save lives.” Lt. Commander Knapp heroically
flew throughout the mission and assisted in the saving of 21 lives, and
was later presented the distinguished “Flying Cross” from the President
of the United States.
Back at the Pipeline Bar in Valdez, AK, able-bodied seaman Ed
Sullivan Jr., and Phil Corl Jr., of the Sohio Intrepid joined rescued
passengers and crew pondering the fate of the elusive lifeboat #6! We
all knew the Coast Guards finest were in pursuit, but still yet unsure
whether the rescue mission would have any casualties. The survivors and
crew of the Prisendam, Williamsburgh, Sohio Intrepid, and off duty Air
Force and Coast Guard all congregated at the famous Pipeline Bar.
Suddenly in the early morning hours of Sunday Oct. 5th a
memorable sight ensued when a young scrubbed clean uniformed Coast Guard
petty officer popped his head into the room and yelled “the boys on the
Boutwell got them!” “All accounted for!” The announcement set forth a
celebration not seen in Valdez in many years. Many toasts of hip hip
hooray ensued into the wee hours of Sunday morning! Many cheers went out
for the Coast Guard’s determined “Boys of the Boutwell,” that will not
be long forgotten!
In hindsight the most striking reminder to witnessing the rescue
of the Prisendam was seeing firsthand the importance of the long
ingrained mundane task of mandatory lifeboat drills and how the Coast
Guard was prepared to execute its motto to “save lives.”
In further reflection what stands out to me was the determined
professionalism in the frenzy of a logistic nightmare that was exhibited
by the U.S. Coast Guard under the command of Admiral Richard Knapp. It
is important to also note the patient and prudent decisions by Holland
American Lines Captain Cornelius Wabeke that were integral to passenger
safety yet went unnoticed in reports of the largest land/sea rescue in
the history of the Sea’s.
On October 7th 1980, in true adherence to maritime
safety a seasoned nine member Holland American Lines team headed by
Capt. Wabeke, Capt. Arnie Van Noort, and Chief Engineer Albert Boot were
airlifted for a salvage effort of the Prisendam. The team cut through
the anchor chain and fastened a steel hawser to and ocean tugboat.
By 4:30 PM the tugboat was successfully executing a tow of the Prisendam.
With Capt. Arnie Van Noort onboard the team could not have had a
more seasoned mariner who knew the vessel possibly better than any
Holland American Lines employee. Capt. Van Noort had sailed as Chief
Mate on the maiden voyage and later served as Captain of the Prisendam
before retiring shore-side for Holland American Lines. With Capt. Van
Noort and Capt. Wabeke onboard to witness a re-flash of the fire in the
engine room with such intensity it knocked out portholes that led to
further sea water to enter and cause more drastic listing of the vessel.
With a team of seasoned marine experts assembled by Holland
American Lines to assess the condition of the vessel, the Prisendam was
now listing to 30 degrees. A decision was made on October 9th
to abandon the salvage efforts and Capt. Wabeke’s team radioed the USCG
Mellon for a helicopter hoist to remove the 9 member team from the
vessel.
On Saturday morning October 11, 1980 the Prisendam was determined
to have taken on too much water by the Commodore Straits tugboat which
was towing the vessel towards Portland, Oregon. The vessel was rolling
from 25 degrees to port to 40 degrees to starboard. After the sea going
tug endured an 11 second roll on its starboard side it was determined to
end the 2-3 knot tow of the smoke scared and weary Prisendam.
At 3:30 AM on October 11th nearly one week to the hour
when the Prisendam sent out its original distress call the vessel
rolled onto its starboard side one last time and sank within three
minutes into 8,820 feet of water finding eternal rest in Davy Jones
locker after seven years of sea service.
Holland American Lines encounters another Passing Ship in the Sea
Fortunately for this author it was not the last time that I would
meet a crew member of the Dutch passenger liner Prisendam. For back in
Holland a thankful Senior Captain Aad Hess of the Prisendam was on his
scheduled “time-off” when the ocean took his beloved jewel of the
Holland American line fleet.
April 14, 1987 was a memorable day for me!
Ironically, I was crossing the Gulf of Mexico onboard the Sohio
Resolute a Keystone oil tanker. It was the sister ship to the Sohio
Intrepid on which I was a crew member in the Gulf of Alaska during the
Prisendam rescue mission eight years previous.
Keystone Shipping officials were meeting the ship in Houston and I
had received a direct order from the Captain to finish painting the
smokestack as one strip stood out that was not painted due to monsoon
rains while we were in port in Panama.
As I attempted to climb to the top of the smokestack with rolling
sea’s and experiencing the extreme heat from the engine room due to the
vessel being at full steam at sea, I experienced not only red hot steel
ladders in climbing aloft but also rolling sea’s. Due to these
conditions I fell over 40 feet and nearly lost my life. While
unconscious and in shock I had one of those reported experiences of
traveling through a tunnel of bright light. It would become a long term
rehabilitation effort which I would spend an entire year of my life with
intensive physical therapy to work my way out of a wheelchair and
regain the use of my legs.
I am eternally grateful to Capt. Aad Hess of Holland American
Lines and the attentive medical staff of Dr. Purvis and the nursing team
onboard who combined to stabilize my condition and save my life.
After I had fallen and landed on the steel deck which was the
steel ceiling to the Sohio Resolute engine room. I was essentially
laying in a frying pan unconscious with the extreme heat hastening my
body sending it into shock.
I had used up all the oxygen onboard the ship and the Captain of
the Keystone tanker Resolute called for the USCG to transport me via
helicopter to Miami for emergency medical treatment to stabilize me.
A seasoned mariner Capt. Aad Hess of the Dutch passenger liner Nieuw Amsterdam
heard the request over the marine radio. In a true century old
maritime tradition Capt. Hess of Holland American lines extended a
maritime courtesy at sea and radioed my ship and offered to take me, an
injured mariner to his vessel equipped with a fully staffed medical
team. The critical decision led to saving my life. The doctor and
nurses of the Nieuw Amsterdam stabilized my condition and allowed me to
overcome the trauma and state of shock.
For me it represented the ability to experience the little things
in life we take for granted, like the wonderful gift of being there to
raise my 4 children, and be alive to home to help my pregnant wife
deliver our 5th child by Lamaze natural childbirth.
I was transported in a standard wire Stokes stretcher by the Nieuw Amsterdam
motor launch used to bring passengers ashore from anchorage in foreign ports.
I awoke in the hospital of the Nieuw Amsterdam with four nurses
cutting my clothes off with scissors and asked “did I die and go to
heaven?”
I was later to learn that I was under the care of Dr. Purvis of
Vancouver, Canada who was the Nieuw Amsterdam medical doctor responsible
for stabilizing my condition. I slowly gained consciousness and was
groggy from the intravenous morphine hooked up to my arm.
When I showed signs of awakening the nurses informed Captain Hess
that I awoke from unconsciousness, and he leaned over me and said, “Son
it’s OK, you’ve had a bad shipboard accident and your onboard the
“Dutch passenger liner.” Nieuw Amsterdam getting the medical attention
you need." At that time all that really registered with me was the
mention of a “Dutch passenger liner,” and I looked into Captain Aad
Hess’s eyes and said, "Does this have anything to do with the
Prisendam?"
My reply caught Capt. Hess by surprise and he appeared in a bit
of shock to hear my reply. He fell back across the room against a
cabinet. The nurses asked Capt. are you OK, are you having a heart
attack?” Captain Hess with an alarmed look on his face said, "How does
this kid know the name of my ship that sank 8 years ago?" All eyes in
the hospital of the Nieuw Amsterdam were on me. I was a stranger in the
room, wired on morphine, and still didn’t know what happened to get
locked down in a neck brace and be on this Dutch passenger liner?”
A long pause of silence captured the room as I was loaded with
unknown fear that maybe I said something wrong. I stuttered that, I was
involved 8 years ago to help save all the 519 people on the Prisendam in
the Gulf of Alaska.
Capt. Hess stood up and said, "Well son, you could say in our own
small way we are paying you back for your effort to help rescue of the
passengers of the Prisendam! Captain Hess said, “I was the Senior
Captain of the Prisendam that had become known as the vessel involved in
the largest land/sea rescue in the history of the seas!”
Capt. Aad Hess called the entire passengers and available crew
together on the ship and announced that they had a very special
unexpected guest aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam and explained to all
assembled of my participation in the rescue mission of the Holland
American Lines Prisendam eight years previous, while he as senior
Captain of the Prisendam off duty at home.
I cannot explain in words how thankful and how lucky I am to have
had Capt. Aad Hess in those sea lanes in the Gulf of Mexico on that
fateful day of April 14, 1987, and by happenchance to have the
experience of “our passing ships in the sea,” and meet Capt. Hess. Capt.
Aad Hess made the decision to adhere to the 141 year maritime tradition
of Holland American Lines and assisted a fellow mariner in distress
upon the high seas!
What will forever stand as a very special moment between a fellow
mariner was before the Nieuw Amsterdam docked in the Port of Jamaica
and my subsequent transport to Miami Hospital, Capt. Hess confided in me
of the personal grief he felt over hearing of his ship Prisendam
sinking in the Gulf of Alaska. Capt. Hess shared how very thankful he
was that all 519 passengers and crew were saved under stormy conditions.
For Captain Hess a seasoned mariner that was a logistic miracle
that he attributed to the combined forces that responded in that
previously mentioned tradition of a “maritime courtesy at sea.”
I experienced in private conversation with Capt. Hess and have a
chance to share with him how it felt to be standing at the Pipeline Bar
in Valdez Alaska and see the uniformed young scrubbed-clean “Coast Guard
Petty Officer come in the bar and yell, “the boys on the Boutwell got
them all,” thanks to the combined efforts of the USCG they found
lifeboat #6.
When I told Capt. Hess we toasted a successful rescue of all
“with a grand toast,” he concurred teary-eyed with me that it must have
been “grand!” As I shared with Capt. Hess my perceived minor role in
securing an Air Force helicopter that emergency landed on the deck of
our empty oil tanker that was filled with fumes.
Capt. Hess assured me that helping the passengers and the Air
Force crew was all integral with the overall success of the rescue
mission. Reminding me of all the little details that had to be in place
on that day right down to the alert Air Force helicopter pilot calling
into the USCG command center to report the latitude and longitude of the
last lifeboat #6 as he set out dangerously running out of fuel and
cleared for an emergency landing on the light and highly volatile oil
tanker Sohio Intrepid.
Before the Air Force chopper left the lifeboat they dropped two
experience frog men in lifeboat #6 with the remaining passengers. It is
an Air Force tradition not to leave a man behind, and in the story of
the Prisendam the USCG and the USAF forces kept tradition and returned
to insure the incredible feat to save all lives.
A few years ago I attempted to contact Captain Aad Hess through
the human resource department of Holland American Lines to formally
thank him for saving my life and was informed that Capt. Hess had passed
away in retirement a year previous.
In lieu of not being able to reach out to Capt. Hess and thank
him, I dedicate this story in an effort to honor his memory and his
adherence to the ancient tradition of a professional maritime courtesy
during times of crisis on the high seas. For without the efforts of
Capt. Hess I would not have had the opportunity to look into my five
children’s eyes ever again, and experience those wonderful child rearing
years watching my five children develop wings for flight into life.
Without the Holland American Lines Capt. Aad Hess I would not
only not be able to write this report, but also to reminisce how small
our world really is! Separated yet linked by our oceans; and the ironic
fate that Capt. Hess the senior off-duty Captain of the Prisendam would
go out of his way to save my life, at the helm of the Nieuw Amsterdam!
How ironic that I learn while I was lying paralyzed through the
tears in Capt. Hess eyes how much the off duty Captain of the Prisendam
appreciated the American mariners that extended a similar maritime
courtesy to save all 519 passengers and crew of the Holland American
Lines Prisendam!
What a great honor that I had to hear from Captain Aad Hess the
single most important fact of the largest land/sea rescue in the history
of the sea’s! That the U.S. Coast Guard’s herculean effort allowed
Capt. Hess’s beloved pride of the Holland American Lines fleet, the
Prisendam, to go to the ocean’s depths with no stigma associated with
the loss of human life!
As a maritime historian that was appointed to serve as the
Massachusetts Field Representative on the National WWII Memorial
Committee I received a very valuable historic gift from Capt. Aad Hess
that I’d like to share with you. With a great expression of pride on the
face of the native Dutch sea Captain from Holland, Captain Hess leaned
forward with a great smile and told me that the Prisendam was the last
cruise ship in Holland American Lines Dutch fleet to be built in the
Netherlands!
I will never forget that tremendous sense of pride expressed by
Captain Hess as he recalled that the Prisendam was christened in the
Netherlands by Princess Margriet, the sister of Queen Betrix.
With the beaming pride only a ship’s Captain could convey Captain
Hess expressed sincere thanks to all the Americans who saved the
passengers and crew of his beloved Prisendam. Capt. Hess mentioned what a
great exhibit of seamanship it took before the Prisendam became the
only victim of the fire going to Davy Jones locker just 50 miles west of
Sitka, forever silent in 9,000 feet of Alaskan waters.
In closing it is appropriate in recalling Holland American Lines
Captain Aad Hess’s service to the sea, to cite the words of President
John F. Kennedy while attending the America’s Cup sailing events in
Newport, Rhode Island the last year of his life.
President Kennedy so eloquently summed up Captain Hess’s career
and for all of us who are drawn to the sea, when he said, “All of us
have the same percentage of salt, in our blood, in our sweat, and in our
tears.” “And when we go back to the sea, to swim or sail upon it, we go
back whence we came.”
Tempus fugit memento Captain Aad Hess!
God Bless the great professional team of Holland American Lines!
Good Sailing Days Ahead,
Capt. Ed Sullivan (Rt.)
Patriotic Productions
Box 5021
Beverly Hills, CA 90209
(619) 723-1144
Enclosure(s): Photographs #1-22
Sources:
Proceedings of the USCG Marine Safety Council Vol. 41 No.5 May 1985
The Anchorage Times Sunday Oct. 5, 1980
Burning Cold: The Cruise Ship Prisendam and the Greatest Sea Rescue of all Time
The Prisendam Fire – History’s Great Sea Rescue / Popular Mechanics April 1981
Time Magazine – Living: A Morning to Remember, Oct. 20, 1980
Conversations with survivors, USCG, & USAF, staff @ the Pipeline Rest. Valdez AK
Photos provided by USCG Proceedings of the USCG Marine Safety Council
Photos provided by Holland American Lines
Photos provided by Capt. Ed Sullivan crewmember Sohio Intrepid
Photos provided by the Anchorage Times
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