1991 жылы батып кеткен «Oceanos» круиздік кемесі

Cruise ship that sank in 1991

MTS Oceanos was a French built and Greek owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. Her captain, Yiannis Avranas, and some of the crew were convicted of negligence for fleeing the ship without helping the passengers, who were subsequently rescued thanks to the efforts of the ship's entertainers, who made a mayday transmission, launched lifeboats, and helped South African Marines land on the ship from naval helicopters. All 571 passengers and crew survived. Epirotiki Lines had lost two other ships within the three years preceding the sinking: the company's flagship Pegasus only two months before, and MV Jupiter, three years before.

Oceanos was launched in July 1952 by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde in Bordeaux, France as Jean Laborde, the last of four sister ships built for Messageries Maritimes. The ships were used on the Marseilles – Madagascar – Mauritius service. Jean Laborde went through many different owners and name changes (Jean Laborde, Mykinai, Ancona, Eastern Princess) in the succeeding decades. In 1976, she was acquired by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and registered under the name of Oceanos. Oceanos was briefly featured in the 1985 film Sky High and with another Epirotiki ship, Apollon XI, in the 1986 film Hardbodies 2.

Under charter by TFC Tours, Oceanos headed into 40 knot winds and swells. most passengers chose to stay in their cabins. While trying to make up lost time, Oceanos encountered rough seas. The storm worsened as the evening progressed and when the first sitting of dinner was served, the waiters could hardly carry the trays of food without dropping something. When the ship's worsening list to starboard made it unsafe to continue, Hills and several passengers went to the bridge to look for the crew, but found it unmanned. They were assisted by the lifeboats of the Dutch cargo ship Nedlloyd Mauritius, which had responded to the distress call. An inflatable had to be launched to rescue some passengers who panicked and jumped into the water. All 581 people on board were saved. Among the entertainers onboard was the South African cabaret performer, Alvon Collison, who later reported that he had begun singing an impromptu repertoire as the ship was sinking, in an effort to keep the passengers' spirits up. In his characteristic style, he managed to weave a comical moment into his narrative of the tumultuous events, telling reporters that he had started singing "Bye Bye Miss American Pie", when he suddenly realised that the next line was going to be "This'll be the day that I die" and quickly switched to another song. Hills later said that searching for Captain Avranas, he had discovered him smoking on the fantail and he said "I think he was in deep, deep shock." A South African Navy Diver testified that the captain had insisted on being taken ashore by the first helicopter. He stated that he left the ship first to arrange for a rescue effort, and then supervised the rescue from a helicopter because "the batteries on the crew's walkie talkies had died, meaning that he had no communications with his crew or with other rescue craft". In 1992, he and five other officers were convicted of negligence by a Greek board of inquiry for fleeing the ship without helping the passengers. Dateline NBC aired a documentary of the incident on 23 May 2010. The sinking is the subject of a song called "Oceanos" by Celtic rock band Coast. It was also discussed in an episode of Nova on 18 April 2012, entitled, "Why Ships Sink", which focused mainly on the Costa Concordia accident (whose commanding officer also fled while passengers were still aboard). Hills was interviewed in the special, and related that some years later he had been on board when the MS Achille Lauro of Star Lauro sank. The rescue featured in episode 4 of Shockwave, first aired 21 December 2007. The NPR radio show and podcast Snap Judgment featured an account of the sinking by Moss Hills. The show Extreme Weather: The Survivors featured a segment on the sinking. In 2022, Hills – who later became a cruise director – was interviewed by Jane Garvey for BBC Radio 4's series Life Changing.

The Oceanos wreck lies at a depth of between and , about offshore.