MS Sdoyt des Norfs

MS Sdoyt des Norfs (Vyvlander for Pride of the North, pronounced /zdout dəz noɾðz/) was a Vyvlander cruise ferry owned by Transgulf that operated between Pee, Vyvland and Katriinankaupunki, Nevanmaa during the early 90's. On November 17, 1995 the ship capsized and sunk about 150 kilometers off the coast of Vyvland, killing 1374 people. The sinking of the Sdoyt des Norfs remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in Esquarian history.

Ship

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Sdoyt des Norfs unloading cars in Pee in June 1995

Sdoyt des Norfs (Vyvlander for Pride of the North) was ordered by the Vyvlander company Transgulf from Byzvild-based Mafsen-Sohns Byts in 1987 and was launched in 1991. At 35,000GT, Sdoyt des Norfs was one of the smallest ships used on Nevanmaa-Vyvland routes. At first, Sdoyt des Norfs operated on Pee-Viirilinna route but was transferred to to the more busy Pee-Katriinankaupunki route in 1993.

Sdoyt des Norfs had a passenger capacity of 2,000 with 1,700 berths. It had ten decks and its amenities included a spa, a casino, movie theater, nightclub, two bars and three restaurants.

Decks

1. Engine room
2. Engine room, third class cabins, spa
3. Car deck
4. Car platform
5. Boarding, information desk, second class cabins
6. Cinema, second class cabins
7. Second and first class cabins
8. Tax-free shops, Café Paradise, Steakhouse, Luigi's Ristorante, Pub Poseidon
9. Nightclub, dining room, Chez Jofrig restaurant, casino, suites
10. Crew cabins, sundeck, Arcadia Bar
11. Sundeck, bridge

Sinking

Departure

On November 17, 1995, Sdoyt des Norfs left Pee at 20:45 on a routine trip to Katriinankaupunki with 1,612 passengers and crew onboard. Piloted by Vyvlander captain Brekt Keeper, the 600-kilometer journey was expected to last 28 hours. Weather at the time was stormy with wind gusts, and the temperature was around 7 degrees. The water temperature at Pee was 12 degrees.

After the loading of cars was completed, it was the duty of seaman Sven Lindqvist to make sure that both the bow and stern ramps and visors were closed and locked. This was done from a panel located in the rear part of car deck. Lindqvist visually inspected the aft visor, but due to large amounts of buses and trucks on the lower car deck, he could not see whether the bow ramp and visor were locked.

Though according to official protocol Lindqvist was supposed to manually inspect both visors, it was usual for seamen to only inspect the aft visor and rely on the panel to see whether the bow visor was locked properly. A light on the panel signalled that the bow ramp and visor were closed and locked, so Lindqvist left the car deck at 20:55 and radioed the bridge to ask to lock the car deck doors a few minutes later.

However, even though the visor had closed properly, the locks on the port side of the bow visor had not locked properly. This created a massive strain on the locks on the starboard side of the visor.

Beginning of the disaster

Immediately after the departure, water started seeping in to the car deck from the port side of the unlocked bow visor. This went unnoticed on the bridge since the CCTV system of the car deck had been broken for the past week due to vandalism.

On November 17, the person responsible for hourly patrols on the car deck and making and the car platform was Seaman Kalevi Laitinen. His main duty was to make sure that the cars were fastened properly so they wouldn't start moving around even in heavy storms. Laitinen's patrol route consisted of entering the car platform from the bow, walking the length of the ship to the aft and then descending to the car platform and making his way back to the bow of the ship.

However, it was common for car deck patrollers to only make sure that the cars on the car platform were fastened and only briefly, if at all, inspect the car deck. This was the case with Laitinen, who only inspected the car platform at 21:00, 22:00 and 23:00. Since the car deck wasn't visible from the car platform, he did not notice the water that was seeping to the car deck from the unlocked visor.

The locks break

At 23:10, there was about two feet of water on the car deck. Though several people told the information desk that water was dripping to deck 2 from the roof, these reports never made it to the bridge. As the entrance to the car deck was located at the end of a long hallway from the aft and bow stairwells that was rarely used for anything else, water gushing through the gaps on the door was not noticed until around 23:35.

At 23:39, the locks on the starboard side of the bow visor broke. The visor opened, and water started gushing to the car deck at a rate of 20,000 tons per second. Within a minute, the ship started heavily listing to the right. At first captain Brekt Keeper believed that there was a problem with the ballast tanks, but it soon became clear that the bow visor had either opened or detached.

Sdoyt des Norfs sinks

A general alarm was sounded at 23:41 and the abandon ship order was given at 23:47. First officer Vonse Tomasson called mayday at 23:43 which was received by several ships, most notably a Nevan Seal Line ship, Seal Star, which was around 80 kilometers away.

By 23:50 time the ship's list and increased to around 35 degrees and moving around the ship became increasingly difficult. The ship lost power at 23:57, with emergency generators and batteries providing only basic lightning and power for the most vital instruments on the bridge. Lack of co-ordination from the crew, which included Nevans, Maris, Vyvlanders, Varunians and Namorese and many of whom did not speak English, in addition to the increasing list made lowering the lifeboats increasingly difficult.

At 00:13 the list had reached 90 degrees and the ship started sinking bow-first. The aft disappeared beneath the waves at 00:19. Only about 400 people made it to the outer decks, while the rest were trapped inside the ship as the list increased. Several people were also killed by slot and vending machines and furniture hitting them as the list increased.

Rescue effort

As only a small fraction of Sdoyt des Norfs's lifeboats were launched before the sinking, around half of the 400 people who made it to the outer decks before the sinking were killed by drowning or hypothermia. Rescue efforts were also complicated by the fact that first officer Vonse Tomasson had given incorrect coordinates during his mayday call, and rescuers had difficulty finding the site. In addition, darkness and heavy seas hampered the rescue effort.

Most of the people were rescued from the water by Nevan ferry Seal Star and ships of the Vyvlander Coast Guard between 02:50 and 06:00. The last survivor was picked up by a Vyvlander Air Guard helicopter at 09:10. Of the 1,612 passengers and crew onboard, only 238 survived.

Victims came from 15 different countries. Among the perished were 633 Nevans, 532 Vyvlanders, 79 Unolians, 32 Geads, 29 Vjaars, 25 Luziycans, 17 Odissians, 10 Crolacians, 7 Britannoans, 6 Aininians, 2 Michillians, 2 Namorese, 1 Francesian, and 1 Pavonistadian.

Aftermath

Immediately after the disaster, a joint Nevan-Vyvlander investigation board was set up to investigate the cause of the crash. It was determined that bolts that were too large had been used in the repairing of the bow visor locks two days before the accident. This in turn caused the locks on the port to only move 1/10th of the distance required to lock the visor properly.

On the previous trip from Katriinankaupunki to Pee, seaman Wig Dalder had reported that water had managed to enter the car deck. In Pee, it was determined that it would be safe to sail the ship back to Katriinankaupunki, where the source of the water could be investigated. However, Dalder never made it to Katriinankaupunki.

The committee also determined that negligence and general indifference towards safety regulations practised by both the crew and the shipping company itself contributed to the disaster. The leak and the fact that the visor was not locked properly wasn't noticed until it was too late, even though the visor was supposed to be inspected hourly.

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Memorial to the victims of the Sdoyt des Norfs disaster in Katriinankaupunki

The final report was released on February 26, 1997, blaming the Transgulf shipping company for the disaster. Transgulf went bankrupt three months later, with most of its ships being sold to Nevan shipping companies Marielink and Seal Line. In addition, the shipbuilding industry in the eastern Vyvlander city of Byzvild, which Sdoyt des Norfs' builder Mafsen-Sohns Byts spearheaded, accelerated its decline.

Notable deaths

• Joan van Bijsterveld, lawyer and former Deputy Prime Minister of Nevanmaa
• Seppo Karisto, Nevan TV presenter

International reactions and memorials

A funeral procession for victims from Lensdonaas, Vyvland

• Ainin: Prime Minister of Ainin Lucas Edouard issued a message of condolence to the families of the victims and said that he "had them in his prayers". He also offered to send a Civil Transport Investigation Board team to the area to aid in the investigation. An Aininian Navy frigate in the North Sea was put on standby, but was never deployed to the scene.
• Britanno: All leading political figures paid their condolences to the families of the victims, with Parliament gathering for a special memorial session. The President also issued a statement paying his respects to all victims of the disaster from other countries.
• Template:Country data Francilie: President of the Republic Robert Bachaux issued a message of condolence to all the families of the victims, and assured psychological help for the family of the Francesian victim, who lived in Nansbourg. All the Francesian flags of the city were flown at half-staff for three days.
• Template:Country data Geadland: King Albert II gave an address announcing the news, in which he was visibly close to tears. He said that "We as a nation are saddened to hear about the tragedy. We shall hold the families of the victims high in our thoughts and prayers." A memorial service was held in Bondhaven Cathedral on 26 November. 23 of the 32 Geadish victims had come from Da Hegner; on the 10th anniversary of the disaster, a memorial was unveiled at Hegnerburgh Castle.
• Luziyca: The President, William Mishnev said that "it is a tragic loss of these souls." All 25 people were from Jerusalem, and were buried in a monument dedicated in 1996 with 25 steps leading up to an eternal flame to commemorate the loss of the 25 passengers.
• Nevanmaa: In Nevanmaa, King Juhani III declared a national day of mourning for November 19 and ordered that all flags must be flown at half-staff for the next seven days. Juhani and Prime Minister Olavi Pohjanen attended a memorial service for the victims in Nevanlinna Cathedral on November 21. A memorial statue to the victims was erected in Katriinankaupunki in 1996.
• Template:Country data Odissia: King William VIII issued a message of condolence to the families of all the victims and to the Nevan and Vyvlander nations. Chancellor Tíbério Tórrénátti declared 19 November to be a national day of mourning and ordered all flags be flown at half-staff for a week following the tragedy. The funerals for the 17 Odissian victims were held throughout the week of 20 November. A memorial to the victims in Sa Córugna was inaugurated by the King and Vyvlander and Nevan ambassadors to Odissia in March 1996.
• Pavonistade: President Jacquie Iatouqua declared the disaster to be a "sorrowful tragedy" and offered consolation for all of the victim's families, particularly that of the sole Pavonistadian victim. She also asked for the populace to "recognize that such terrors, no matter how many lost their lives, will only strengthen Pavonistade and the region."
• Template:Country data United Republics: Captain Regent Marc Emerlins issued a message of condolence to the families of all the victims, while President of the Generalitat Elisavètta da Cruce sent oak wreathes to her Vyvlander and Nevan counterparts, one of the few contacts between Michillian and Nevan officials in the twentieth century. A memorial service for the two Michillian victims, a newly-wed couple from Braga, was held on 29 November and a memorial plaque was installed in front of the couple’s old house in February 1996.
• Vjaarland: Grand Duke Fridtjof III gave an address to the nation following the disaster, stating that "The hearts and prayers of the nation are with the families of those lost in this heartbreaking tragedy." Prime Minister Josef Rundstrøm gave a similar address less then one hour later, and declared that "The events which have transpired today shall only strengthen our resolve and unity as a nation." A memorial service was held at Strendhavn Cathedral for the 29 Vjaarlandic victims, and all Vjaarlandic flags were ordered to be flown at half-mast for one week.
• Vyvland: Within six hours of the sinking, President Enrig Dalder declared a 'national state of mourning'. A mourning service at the Greethal in Stiven - the hometown of twenty-three of the Sdoyt des Norfs passengers - was organised for the 532 Vyvlanders on the boat on 24 November; over 20,000 people came to the city that day to join the mourning. Processions also took place in the hometowns of all other passengers. Author Klara-Ana Veld described the incident as Vyvland's "tragedy of the decade," a phrase which has become a byword for the ship's sinking.