He def did things wrong, but at the same time, I can't fault him completely as he believed that the passengers that could still be saved from the fire-affected areas had already woken up from the fire alarm. I'd place him on the "less evil" on the Francesco Schettino-scale. EDIT: Btw, I'm not condoning his actions.
Well, he abandoned the ship when he had given the all clear to his men to set fire to the ship after an agreement with his masters. It is likely they wanted deaths because it would make it seem like it wasnt on purpose. Smart, although utterly devoid of empathy or decency.
Both captain and the owners should be held accountable. Both failed to ensure the crew had proper emergency training and both elected to sail a ship with glaring safety issues. The captain should have, at the very least, insisted on evacuation training for his crew prior to departure. Having said that, it's hard to be a whistleblower in the corporate world. It is guaranteed career suicide in most companies.
@@notthatcreativewithnames The story is horrible but the fact is that, the people that managed to get to the muster stations all got evacuated at the same time as the captain. He was deluded enough to belive that was everyone. However there was a mooring deck aft with 50 people which he didn't know about who couldn't reach the life boats. and the 158 that died. A mix of shock and total loss of situational awareness made him think everyone was evacuated.
Maybe the payout was higher if it happened whilst in use. Also, if in dock the damage would likely have been less due to proximity of fire extinguishing equipment, therefore evidence of arson more likely to survive. Taking passengers on a cruise is less likely to arouse suspicion than sailing out empty, for no apparent reason.
I doubt it was insurance fraud, to many people around to possibly see something. Though sadly no one did apparently. Even if the payout is lower, would be much safer to get out in deep water and do it.
Being lost frantically running up and down corridors as they filled with smoke and noxious fumes, getting more stressed and tired, begging for help from staff who can't help in any capacity - the last few minutes/hours of those poor souls would've been horrendous
In most cases, exit signs must be clearly posted and it is a good idea to learn the word for "exit" in whichever language it was built for and make a mental note of the word while on the vessel. It can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. Not that this excuses what happened in any way. In a disaster, you are often your only resource.
I have ALWAYS had a terrible tendency (when listening to this channel) to picture myself in/at whatever tragedy they talking about and forcibly imagine what it was like. I honestly don't enjoy doing it nor do I mean to sound as if I'm bragging or boasting that it doesn't bother me or like I would be the one to survive it. I just feel SO fucking bad for the victims in all the stories he tells but I know sitting here crying over it won't change anything. my only option therefore is to remember the past so as not to repeat it. if I can burn the loss into my brain I can avoid repeating it I guess
@@danielbradley5255 Sounds like you have a very vivid imagination to be able to imagine the situation/environment and are very good at empathizing to try and feel what the passengers felt.
@@orangehoof Signs were hanging from the ceiling blocked by smoke. A big no-no Honestly, she was as safe as a leaky tub in the middle of the pacific and she should never have sailed. But this ship was bought for 10.3 million and insured for 24. although a value estimate was 8. It screams insurance fraud
@@emusaurus This is the second time I’ve found you doing this, kid. Do you think anyone here minds reading comments like this considering they came to watch a video about it? Hush and let everyone enjoy their conversation. If you’re already bored playing Fortnight maybe go listen to your Justin Bieber album. Just quit gatekeeping RUclips comments, kid. No one cares.
@@emusaurus lord, shut up degenerate. Respect for those who are lost. If you can't respect people that lost their lives in such a terrible way, you deserve their fate in return.
Is this really that common? We're focused here on disaster that become tragedies, so maybe judging the prevalence of malicious captains from this content is skewed. Even on this channel, I feel like most of the captains mentioned do the right thing, or, at least, better than this. This stands out as uncommonly inhumane behavior to me. Maybe I'm wrong. I could be convinced otherwise.
I remember watching a documentary on this. The random corridors that had no exits must have been terrible, and it all depended on luck; if you chose to run left or right. One man, that was separated from his pregnant wife in the dense smoke, ran with his toddler in his arms and chose the 'correct' path, while his wife was found among other passengers that had been unfortunate enough to be met with a wall instead of an exit.
@Dr.CandyStriper It's available on youtube! :) I suppose that it technically isn't a documentary, but an episode of 'Seconds From Disaster'. It's episode S01E04: "Fire on the star".
Fascinating Horror Video starter pack aka "The recipe for disaster" (Jean Gentry ): Claimed to be fireproof Owned by multiple people Multiple companies constructed Filled above capacity Ignored advice from contractor Untrained staff Multiple refittings Toxic and flammable fireproofing "Recently inspected and found to be in violation of several codes but somehow signed off as fit for purpose anyway" (Paul Berry) "To make cheaper or cut construction cost" (Alex Jefferson Palita) "Locked or obstructed Emergency Exits" ( Haruka Tenoh) "New regulations that passed afterwards that seem like common sense nowadays" (Kilo One) "It could be a bingo series at this point" ( Jessica R)
My mom and her family we’re going to be on this ship april 9th, on the monday due to her father having to work both saturday and sunday, even though he tried to get that weekend off. Can’t believe that a simple desicion like that can save someone’s life
I was a girl guide at the time, Scandinavian Star burned, and one of the members of the troup was on board on that fateful night. She and her whole family (mother, father, sister) now rest in their graves, not far away from my home.
That's amazing! A small change made a huge difference with your family. I'm 49 and if my stepfather stayed at The Beverly Hills Supper Club that night. I would never had the chance call Les Dad.
"There was no time for the brand new crew to be trained..." Then why the fuck was it on the water with passengers? Oh, because profits > lives, which nearly all of these videos shows is common AF
@@thegoldengamer9315 not necessarily. That was authoritarianism. It functioned as more of a socialist government than communist one. A communist government has neverbeen put in place, except for temporary ones. The soviets used the name of communism to bring themselves to power and to control Russia. Communism creates a power vacuum and can easily make the system be abused by people who want only power like Stalin and invites instability especially if the previous government has a hard fall like the Czars. It's like the French revolution, where after an absolute monarch was taken down and a new government was put in place to push for equality like equal voting rights free speech, etc. Which brought a reign of terror where France was in turmoil. Basically it was too much too fast and destabilized the country. Communism can only be accomplished as an end goal after decades of slowly socializing a government. And the government should have power if and only if it serves the people and not the people with influence.
More likely it was to avoid media and public attention while it sailed to a port where it was to be repaired. There was little point in paying thousands for fresh signwriting when the ship was going to need a complete overhaul anyhow.
July 1, 2021: Discovered this channel July 19, 2021: Completed my binge of all available episodes. Sadness descended. July 20, 2021: Woke up to a brand new story. Joy briefly returned to life.
Just out of curiosity, how did you find this channel? It was recommended to me because I watch "Ask a Mortician" videos with Caitlin Doughty (she's awesome, BTW). :)
_It has been 13 days since the last Fascinating Horror video was watched. All hope is lost. Whomever finds my body, you are welcome to our stuff. Farewell, dear stranger._
The Scandinavian Star disaster is why passenger ships in Scandinavian waters must now have Scandinavian crew members as to avoid the language barrier issue with evacuation.
Something like that should be implemented in so many more areas of the world in so many more situations. Language barriers can become quite a problem and even people who "should know a language from school" often don't actually speak it.
It was a communication failure between the ship builders, owners and refurbishment contractors. Original safety measures can be unintentionally thwarted when people have to rely on second and third hand information. A system that fails catastrophically when just one preventative measure fails, is a bad system.
In the 2003 tragic fire at “The Station” nightclub in Rhode Island, the walls of the nightclub were were covered with cheap, but dangerous acoustic foam. The nightclub was located in an older, very small building. The brothers who owned the nightclub added the acoustic foam on the walls, ostensibly to soundproof the club. After the pyrotechnics ignited the fire, the foam quickly became toxic. The walls gave off Dark smoke, Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Cyanide. The investigators concluded that if not for the coating on the walls, the death rate would have been much lower. When the narrator mentioned the chemicals emanating from the ship’s walls, I thought of “The Station”.
Something about hearing how the captain was one of the first off the ship just really ticks me off. Not saying he needs to go down with the ship, but come on.
Frankly, I feel that if a captain shows cowardice or otherwise fails to at least make an honest attempt at saving the ship and/or it's passengers, then the punishment should be death. Like you, I don't feel that they have to go down with the ship, but cowardice should not be tolerated.
@@samhouston1288 Yeah, it's the cowardice that gets me. YOU'RE the captain and responsible for the ship and all the souls on board? It's like being a cop or firefighter and you're the first one to run to safety. They say "the captain goes down with the ship" at the very least you should be one of the last ones off.
@@Koorime18 I don’t have a problem with the captain getting off sooner IF it is in aid of improving the rescue - like if the captain needs to be able to better evaluate damage or can get a better perspective on the evacuation from a lifeboat due to the conditions of the problem. But the purpose should be DOING THE JOB BETTER not “flee”.
I avoid all buildings, boats, structures that are something-proof. But more and more, I avoid anything besides my house. Can't go in any multi-story buildings here in Florida. Can't go in the water (rip tide, red tide, animals, etc.) Don't want to be around others driving here (they're notoriously bad here). So, home it is!
Just to clear up a few misunderstandings: even though the ship got new owners, the crew mostly remained the same and came from Portugal and other places, and most people from Scandinavia do not speak Portuguese. Also, the video talks about the Vognmandsruten company as being Dutch (aka from the Netherlands), while in reality it was a Danish company (aka from Denmark), and the passengers on board would have mostly come from Norway, Denmark and Sweden (speaking Norwegian, Danish and Swedish). Passengers from these countries would easily understand enough English to follow directions in an emergency, but IIRC the crew pretty much only spoke Portuguese.
I see these kinds of fundamental mistakes in videos as a trend across this channel. That's a shame because it limits the credibility and thus value the videos presented have.
Well, renaming often means that the inside is redecorated and they might be sold to a company which just wants a cheap ship, neglecting the maintenance. Also after accidents and the like, the name would be changed not to be associated with any bad happenings. I believe this is why people think this way.
Imagine You're on a ship, a train, an elevator or just shopping in a nearby mall, when you hear it, faintly, through the speakers, the haunting tune of a familiar music you've heard so many tragedies being narrated on wyd
Trapped in a burning skyscraper. 🔥Trapped in the Nutty Putty cave. 🕳 Running out of air while cave diving. 💦 There’s no end. I have not even mentioned saturation diving. 😱
Cutting corners, hiring crews that are neither knowledgeable of the ship or able to communicate with the passengers is a recipe for disaster, be it on land, air or sea.
Its not that they hired a crew without knowledge, its that they weren't trained. "Only a month" is bullshit. They should have been trained and able to respond before a single passenger boarded.
Most of the crews have knowledge of ships but lack knowledge of the English language. Also in that time period, not as many people in Scandinavia could speak English.
@@clearcreek69 Cruising is something that one can only try at least once, like just about everything else in life. I would like to go on a transatlantic cruise either to or from Europe. The Cunard or Holland America lines(if you can afford those cruise lines), or other large and reputable lines are capable, but it depends on what you are looking for. And also most important, is the season for cruising.
Steinhauser, Rytter and Guimbatan was behaving suspicious from when they were transfered to when the ship was moored in Lysekil. I highly doubt Larsen knew the ship as well as those three along with the 6 additional seaescape crewmen
@@skylineXpert I find the whole story about the crew setting the fire highly speculative. My father was a first engineer, and had previously worked on that route for the company that was bought by vognmansruten. My family was also survivors of the fire. So my father also testified in the official inquiry after the disaster as a witness. He didn't believe Steinhauser did anything to deliberately harm the vessel, it's a far too complicated story to explain in a youtube comment. But basically some of the ventilation was not working in the passenger areas, so steinhauser had opened a door on the car deck and used the powerful extractor fans that is located there to force air through the ship as a workaround. Although not the reason for the fire, it greatly contributed to it's severity. There also was some drama with him and the swedish fire fighters. Because he wanted to close all the fire doors starve the fire from oxygen and let the fire burn itself out, while they wanted to go about it like a ordinary Building fire, using firehoses and water. The firemen had no clue about fighting fire on a big ship, and no knowledge of the layout of the boat. Which led to arguing and drama. At one point, the ship had become highly unstable, with a list and was dangerously close to capsizing. If steinhauser really wanted to harm the ship he could have helped this prosess. But he helped empty the ship of water instead. One issue was that the pump used to put pressure on the fire hoses, was also going to be used as a bilge pump. The firefighters had to temporary halt their efforts. People believed that this was a deliberate act of sabotage. Because it is possible to keep the pressure on the firehoses using the water from inside the ship. The problem with this however is that it would be contaminated with waste oil, and other debris. Which isn't very good to mix with a fire. Some of the things Steinhauser did would look suspicious, but it the right context it isn't as bad at it would seem.
Very interesting. I do still wonder 1. why did he assume all the passengers were off the ship? And 2. Why did they double insurance on the ship AFTER receiving a safety warning, then did nothing to improve this? People find these things too convenient. Lives mean nothing to some greedy people.
@@ashn7146 I am pretty confident that it was common practice to insure ships for more then what they where worth. Captain Larsen was confused about the situation. I believe he was delusional enough to think most people had gotten off. Most people where in a state of shock. Not really understanding what was happening
The narration on these videos is superlative. He clearly goes the extra mile with pronunciation, and also gets the tone perfect for this delicate subject matter. Bravo.
@@sstills951 Belief of 'Bad luck' in the changing of ship names might have some origin in karmic default leading back to when a ship goes horribly wrong in its history...especially with malfeasance involved. Merely changing the name of a vessel in question to hide its history, at least on the surface, is a kick in the balls to the souls of those befallen by any tragedy linked to said vessel.
@@empireoflizards So it’s bad luck in the superstitious sense, but in the instant red flag sort of sense? As in “They changed the name of the ship... dude, I’d pass on this one if I were you.”
@@sstills951 yeah, Seawise Giant had several names. And in its life got bought and immediately sent back for engine vibration, sunk by a cruise missile, refloated and then scrapped. If it weren’t for her size Seawise Giant would be considered the poster child for “don’t rename your damn ship”
Shocking how cavalier the captain was in saving his own skin then downplaying the situation. I hope they get to the bottom of it someday soon and those responsible face the consequences of their actions.
Hi, the collapsed tree on a concert in the parc de Pourtalès, Strasbourg, France would be a interesting vid It changed on a national level how much attention was put on meteorological hazards
This. Having just searched up "Vognmandsruten K/S, A/S", there is not much information available in English, so a mistake is understandable really. However, if proper research was done, I'm not sure how the Dutch would even come up anywhere as being involved in this disaster.
Wow that's a very beautiful description - it's perfect! I can see kitty now, an elegant cat with silky fur walking along the piano, quietly so as not to distract from the respect for those that lost their lives in this terrible disaster.
This reminds me of the MV Sewol Incident, not the fire part but the fact that the captain neglected his job for his own well-being, whilst teenagers died.
7:13 “…some posited have been an attempt to scupper the vessel…” Not gonna lie….I looked up those terms. I feel slightly more educated having learned history and English in the same video.
@@EliWCoyote until you realize scupper is a nautical term meaning a hole in the bulwarks of a ship. (More truth: now I’m going to look up bulwarks and make sure I know what that means.) 😳
But he wasn't saying people aren't posting comments about it, he was simply wondering why more people weren't doing it (than the ones who already do it).
Just prior to the collapse, another bridge of similar design that he was involved with collapsed in the UK. Whilst in Melbourne he was reassuring the BC workers that the West Gate Bridge construction techniques and design were sound. The designer of the West Gate Bridge was a fatality in the collapse.
@@bozlakian3329 , I was 5 years old when The Tasman Bridge collapsed. We lived about 5 minutes drive away…..still remember our house trembling and the glass rattling in the windows. My husbands cousin was sadly one of the people who drove off the bridge😢
My dad and grandfather was on this ship, as firefighters. Dad marked and counted bodies after the fact. He was 24 and rather new to the job at the time. Im 27 now and often think of how that must have shaped his worldview. Grandfather was a firecaptain and coordinator, he is in several of the longer documentaries about the star. The heat was so severe that the "smokedivers" had to take shorter dives than usual because the soles of their shoes melted to the floor.
9:10 - Yes, there is a memorial in Lysekil built recently, however the picture you are displaying is of the memorial in Oslo that stands on the quay beneath Akkershus Castle. I walk past it every time I travel to Oslo from Copenhagen.
@Dirty Magic11 I never thought of that. I think my depression has fueled my interest, and I've wondered why I'm drawn to it so much more lately. I don't think it's because I want to die, though...you might be on to something about it making us grateful for living, even though things feel like they really suck in our lives at the moment.
@@voutsider190 That's why a lot of people (or at least just me) enjoy horror movies, even though we'd rather not get scared in our normal everyday lives. Your anxiety ramps up, only to be hit with a subconscious feeling of relief knowing that you're safe and just watching a movie
Interviewer: "If the ship were sinking, burning or falling over, would you leave?" Person: "No, of course not!" Interviewer: "I'm sorry. It doesn't seem you have the right stuff to be a cruise ship captain."
When ships were wooden they would burn down to the waterline, when they started being made out of meta,l when there was a fire on a ship oftentimes it could be turned into a floating crematorium. Like what happened to the SS Noronic.
@@marvindebot3264 But unlike when ships were made out of wood the ashes of the victims would be mixed in with the ashes of the wood from the ship, But with metal ships they are just cremated inside the metal walls or burned up horribly.
There was no excuse for the astonishingly poor emergency preparedness onboard this ship. Crew emergency training should have been (and probably was) mandatory before a single passenger stepped onboard the newly acquired vessel.
Agreed. Any member of the crew should be able to find their way out from any point on board the ship under limited visibility conditions (e.g. smoke filled corridors, darkness) and should be able to at least know enough of the most common passenger language(s) to point people towards the exits and perform other safety critical tasks (it is just a few sentences after all)
"There was no excuse for the astonishingly poor emergency preparedness onboard this ship." If it was arson committed for insurance fraud, then that's exactly what you want.
@@jvccr7533 Murder or manslaughter investigations are the last thing you would want if you intended to commit insurance fraud. The police put a LOT more resources into investigating suspicious loss of life than they do for fraud. Would you really want dozens of police poking around the ship in addition to the accident investigation people? The smartest thing to do would have been to ensure absolutely no one died and that would mean having your crew well-trained in emergency procedures.
And at the inquiry the crew argued that training drills wouldnt have helped and at worst would "make the situation more confusing, this way the crew ran straight to exits and led passengers to safety". You know, except the 158...smh
I love your content. You cover heavy topics that we have an undeniable morbid fascination with, but do so as respectfully as you can. No reveling in the carnage, just the facts as we know them, presented in a straightforward manner.
Can we get one of the Westgate bridge collapse? My step dad was there that day and it was a truly tragic event that not many people know the details of
I'll never forget the radio interviews from that day. Blokes mourning their dead mates like: "what'll become of his wife and kids?" It was haunting. PS there was another much earlier tragedy when putting an under-water pipe from the Williamstown side where a bunch of workers got drowned in the air-lock. There's also the story of the first train from Geelong to Melbourne where a bloke lost his head leaning out of the train engine. Lots of interesting and tragic stories from our local history. I wish someone made a movie about them one day.
I recently found this channel and have been binging the videos. It's quickly become my favourite documentary channel. I like the concise nature of the videos and the clear, steady pace of the narration. The script is well written and easy to follow.
Love the video 👍 This case has been covered in numerous documentaries here in Scandinavian until just recently, and has always strongly fascinated me. Vognmandsruten is by the way a Danish company 🙏
Thank you! I'm glad you made the video about Scandinavian star. My dad is a fisher in Denmark and the disaster shocked most of the marine industry here.
I remember seeing the episode of Seconds From Disaster on this fire, but it was made prior to the final inquiry & thus didn’t get into the exact cause. Learning the full details of it being an organized arson makes it all worse.
The sinkin of MS Estonia took the lives of over 800 people. The reason why it sank is still shrouded in numerous conspiracy theories and mysteries. Only now the investigation has been re opened and they have already found new tears in the ship's hull. There is so many weird things surrounding this event. Would be really cool if you made a video about this.
Original dives reported the loading ramp closed. Eye vitness reports of the crew with camera access of the car deck say the ramp was closed as the ship was already listing. Eyewitness reports from passengers below the car deck of water rushing up from below. Official report: Estonias bow visor failed and lowered the car deck ramp, flooding estonia with water. It's not even a conspiracy theory that the Swedish military smuggled soviet equipment out of Estonia on the ship with the same name.
@@Pottan23 Almost all of the crew that survived was flown away with private non registered aircrafts and their whereabouts are unknown for even their family members. The captain of the ship was taken in the hospital but the records say that he drowned with the ship, even though there are eye witnesses that saw him at the hospital. Nobody knows where he is now.
They are/were starting the investigation this month, so it might be early for a video. The construction is very likely to at least be a part of why it sank, and the company that built it wanted this investigation badly to find anything that could have gone wrong that wasn't their fault, while especially Sweden didn't want this to be touched at all. I am, however, not aware how important peace after death is in the Swedish culture. If there are those type of interests involved, it can get really messy.
"the walls are fireproof?" "Ja." "Meaning they'll burn slowly and resist the effects of flames?" "Ja." "Great, coat it with something. That way when it burns away, the fireproofing will take effect and fight the fire!" ".....ja."
I showed my dad some of FH videos about ferry boat fires and accidents and he told me "It would be really interesting to see him do one about The Scandinavian Star" and I had never heard of it before and he told me some of the details that was covered in this video. I couldn't believe my eyes when it popped up on my sub feed. Cant wait to show it to him.
@@Koreviking Yes, I gather that, but the location of the vessel suggests Norwegian, Dutch, and English should have been somewhat spoken amongst a slight majority of the crew. My guess is they spoke Swedish or Danish.
They were probably from the Philippines, a lot ships hire workers from over there because the wages are lower. They were already cutting costs on everything else.
@@jonathancarlson6127 but Norwegian, Danish and Swedish are all quite similar and can be understood, ofc in a panic situation it poses some difficulties... But I'm native Swedish speaking and I understand most of Norwegian and a lot of Danish, just because the grammar and words are mostly similar. I guess there might have been Germans or Russians on board or something?
@@tunnjessica I'm thinking in 1990 did they have ex-Soviet immigrants already? Russian, Estonian, Baltic. Or perhaps from other east block countries? Those would have been cheap labor at the time (the countries were doing really bad financially), and most of them unable to speak Scandinavian languages or English.
Well, I finally did it. I (intentionally) binge watched all your videos, and am now feeling despair, not knowing what else it is I'm to do with my life. One of your videos happened across my suggested feed, and intrigued me. I watched, and was immediately hooked. The content, the delivery, the quite clear lack of begging for subscribers and likes, as well as the lack of exaggerative, speculative or assumptive angles come together in such a way as to provide to the viewer, dare I say, a perfect presentation of well-researched, clearly-articulated, factually-based information. You, sir, are a master craftsman, and this channel being evidence of that. Please, continue. I count your channel among the very few that I have "rung the bell" on. A (very high) standard has been set with this channel. I look forward to future videos, and your continued growth.
As a Norwegian I remember this vividly. I was just a brat at the time and was most worried about regular TV-shows getting taken off the air in favor of constant news broadcasts!
How nice it would be to still be an ignorant, privileged child huh. I don't know why exactly I remember this now, but around 2 - 4 years ago there was a fire in a building close by in an area that is very industrial, a lot of stuff in a lot of warehouses, often not safely stored, and there is also a lot of shops and general office buildings, it was the second or third fire there within only a few years and you never quite know what will be affected and how bad it could be, and then there was this child on the tram crying because she didn't get to go to where the smoke comes from because her parents said it was too dangerous but it would have been "so great to see". Those things just seem so different to children.
I was only 5 when MS Estonia sank, so I don't remember how big the coverage was for us Swedes (the majority of the passengers were Swedish), but I remember my dad saying "It feels like it was yesterday." on the 20's anniversary of the sinking.
Hey don't feel bad, one of my early memories is being cranky that Saturday morning cartoons were being preempted for a report about some guy named Nelson getting out of jail...
I follow your channel because I appreciate the lessons learned that you extract from these tragic disasters, especially those that lead to improved regulations and serve as a tribute to prevent future victims
I think it's so good that you are sharing the causes and mistakes behind tragic accidents, thereby spreading more knowledge and awareness of safety regulation, and discouraging negligence. It's likely that your channel will contribute - or may have already contributed - to the saving of thousands of lives. Thank you for your hard work!
Yes I lost a good friend on the Estonia . I remember seeing that ship in a Stockholm harbour just before the tragedy. I still remember to this day , that the Estonia seemed to have like a haze around her . I was a tour guide at the time around Scandinavia . Very sad . I believe the Estonia is still on the sea bed . No attempt was ever made to bring her back up to the surface !! I wonder why !! 😮😮😮.
I suggested this topic a few months ago, as someone living in Finland I'm fascinated and horrified by the fates of the victims and the still mysterious cause of the accident. He replied he'd been planning on making a video on it, but I think it will take a while
@@maureenhenderson720 they never raised her or took any of the bodies home for very suspicious reasons. They just wanted the whole thing covered in gravel and concrete and people where shushed down. It's all very sad and bizarre why they would act that way. I'm also sorry for your loss
my mom is watching a newer documentary series on this very boat, and as a norwegian who has taken ferries from Oslo all my life, even onboard the Stena Saga which is a part of this story, i had to come back to this video once more, and probably will regularly
in situations like this, the owners and people who had inspected and approved these boats, structures, whatever, should all be held liable for the deaths of people from negligence
I've never actually heard of this before which is surprising considering that usually people dying in the mountains from mysterious causes gets a lot more press...1978 yes? I could not find anything in English on it...
Yes, I would love to see a video of the Kings Cross Underground fire. My dad was a fireman working on that shout. It was one of the last major incidents he attended before retirement.
I like that you're so respectful in these videos and don't sensationalise things or show images just for shock value. Have you researched the Shoreham Airshow Disaster?
Thank you for the way you present these. Just the facts and no unnecessary gore, I love to learn about history, but its hard to to learn about darker topics without having horrible images burnt into my memory. Thank you.
My partner and I have been so glad to discover this channel! I would love to hear an episode about the Sultana steamboat explosion on the Mississippi River in 1865, which iirc is considered the worst maritime disaster in US history, though relatively few people have heard of it. Corruption, greed, human error, disaster. It has all the right ingredients, but was overshadowed at the time by the news of the death of President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, the day before the explosion happened.
Please tell me the captain was charged for abandoning ship in the early stages of the fire! He should have been the last to evacuate. Also, I'm reconsidering my desire to one day take a cruise (or riding a train, or entering a building...) after watching this channel, lol. This is one of the best channels out there that cover this type of content! As always, keep it up!
There are many other downsides. Cruise ships are bad for the environment, treat their workers like crap, ignore many safety regulations and crime on board often goes unpunished due to their flag states not caring much about it, they are bad for the cities they visit, obviously in the pandemic we have seen how easily they can become plague ships,...
As always, truly fascinating! And congrats on all the subscribers sir! I started watching about 8 months ago and knew your channel would be massive! Thanks for your hard work to remind people of the victims and the tragedies that brought about safer codes we have today.
I was 3 when we were supposed to be on this ship that night. We had just gotten our key for our room and about to board the ship when my mom suddenly felt really sick to her stomach and felt like throwing up. She had been feeling off all day and mixed up about taking this trip. Because of her bad feeling she managed to persuade my father to go back home, he was bummed that the tickets gone to waste. The next day they saw the news, my father was speechless and my mother physically threw up. My mother cried for days and couldn’t sleep for a long time. They later learned that our room was on the same deck as the main fire. To think that I could have died that night with my parents but due to her sixth sense we didn’t, is really mind fucking me.
Thank you for doing this. On 16 March 1988 the MS Scandinavian Star had and engine room fire. The crew couldn't read the firefighting equipment instructions because they were in Danish, the officers only spoke English (the crew were mostly from South America and only spoke spanish). Only two people were injured in this fire. After the MS Scandinavian Star called the US Coast Guard in Miami, they passed it off to the cutter I was serving on and this, the 1988 fire, was my first search and rescue case as a Radioman.
I love your channel, even though the subject matter is always morbid. I really appreciate your efforts in both respecting the passed and giving the viewers an accurate depiction of what happened! 🙂
Whether he started the fire or not, the captain should absolutely be criminally charged for abandoning the ship and refusing to help in any way.
Yup, just like Captain Coward of Costa Concordia...
He def did things wrong, but at the same time, I can't fault him completely as he believed that the passengers that could still be saved from the fire-affected areas had already woken up from the fire alarm. I'd place him on the "less evil" on the Francesco Schettino-scale.
EDIT: Btw, I'm not condoning his actions.
Well, he abandoned the ship when he had given the all clear to his men to set fire to the ship after an agreement with his masters. It is likely they wanted deaths because it would make it seem like it wasnt on purpose. Smart, although utterly devoid of empathy or decency.
Both captain and the owners should be held accountable. Both failed to ensure the crew had proper emergency training and both elected to sail a ship with glaring safety issues. The captain should have, at the very least, insisted on evacuation training for his crew prior to departure.
Having said that, it's hard to be a whistleblower in the corporate world. It is guaranteed career suicide in most companies.
It's against most countries maritime laws as the saying is The Captain Goes Down With The Ship
And I thought the captain of the Costa Concordia was a disgrace.
Basically, Scandinavian Star captain just told Costa Concordia captain, Oceanos captain, and Yarmouth Castle captain to hold his beer.
@@notthatcreativewithnames
Has he made a video about MS Estonia yet?
ruclips.net/video/V5tbah19qo8/видео.html
@@notthatcreativewithnames The story is horrible but the fact is that, the people that managed to get to the muster stations all got evacuated at the same time as the captain. He was deluded enough to belive that was everyone. However there was a mooring deck aft with 50 people which he didn't know about who couldn't reach the life boats. and the 158 that died. A mix of shock and total loss of situational awareness made him think everyone was evacuated.
@@notthatcreativewithnames Add the Skipper and Gilligan from "Gilligans Island" to your list. Those two were obviously morons.
Yes! I think the "captain" of the Sewol Ferry takes the cake for the most disgraceful tho.
Even if one is corrupt enough to perpetrate insurance fraud, to do it with passengers aboard is just evil.
Greed, unfortunately, has a way of heavily tampering with some people's moral compass
And there were already casualties after the first fire....so they thought only one fire didn't make enough damage. What kind of sick people
Corporate logic. Although that's virtually the same thing really.
Maybe the payout was higher if it happened whilst in use. Also, if in dock the damage would likely have been less due to proximity of fire extinguishing equipment, therefore evidence of arson more likely to survive. Taking passengers on a cruise is less likely to arouse suspicion than sailing out empty, for no apparent reason.
I doubt it was insurance fraud, to many people around to possibly see something. Though sadly no one did apparently. Even if the payout is lower, would be much safer to get out in deep water and do it.
Add this to the, “it’s definitely fireproof…” playlist.
Fireproofing isn't fireproofing, it's just making it less likely to burn but more likely to kill people when it does.
*insert Hartford Circus, Kaprun Funicular, Station/Lame Horse/Colectiv Nightclub etc.
@@arianebolt1575 i mean, try getting steel to light on fire
@@heliveruscalion9124 Use thermite....
@@heliveruscalion9124 You also sound like my inner voice....
'i mean, try getting steel to light on fire'...... ok voice, i'll do it.
Being lost frantically running up and down corridors as they filled with smoke and noxious fumes, getting more stressed and tired, begging for help from staff who can't help in any capacity - the last few minutes/hours of those poor souls would've been horrendous
In most cases, exit signs must be clearly posted and it is a good idea to learn the word for "exit" in whichever language it was built for and make a mental note of the word while on the vessel. It can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. Not that this excuses what happened in any way. In a disaster, you are often your only resource.
I have ALWAYS had a terrible tendency (when listening to this channel) to picture myself in/at whatever tragedy they talking about and forcibly imagine what it was like.
I honestly don't enjoy doing it nor do I mean to sound as if I'm bragging or boasting that it doesn't bother me or like I would be the one to survive it. I just feel SO fucking bad for the victims in all the stories he tells but I know sitting here crying over it won't change anything.
my only option therefore is to remember the past so as not to repeat it. if I can burn the loss into my brain I can avoid repeating it I guess
@@danielbradley5255 Sounds like you have a very vivid imagination to be able to imagine the situation/environment and are very good at empathizing to try and feel what the passengers felt.
If you have ever seriously hurt yourself you would find out that you go into a strange place mentally
@@orangehoof Signs were hanging from the ceiling blocked by smoke.
A big no-no
Honestly, she was as safe as a leaky tub in the middle of the pacific and she should never have sailed.
But this ship was bought for 10.3 million and insured for 24. although a value estimate was 8.
It screams insurance fraud
I knew people dying in this disaster. They just got married and was on the way to visit the girls parents in Denmark. May they rest in peace
How awful. There are 100 such stories of lives snuffed out due to the carelessness of others.
So sad this is! Rest in peace to all the victims of this terrible disaster.
How horrific for you and the loved ones of those we lost.
@@emusaurus This is the second time I’ve found you doing this, kid. Do you think anyone here minds reading comments like this considering they came to watch a video about it? Hush and let everyone enjoy their conversation. If you’re already bored playing Fortnight maybe go listen to your Justin Bieber album. Just quit gatekeeping RUclips comments, kid. No one cares.
@@emusaurus lord, shut up degenerate. Respect for those who are lost. If you can't respect people that lost their lives in such a terrible way, you deserve their fate in return.
Oh wow, yet another terrible Captain neglecting the safety of passengers? That's honestly thoroughly unsurprising.
Not only the captain but the shipping company as well, there are rumors that it was pure arson an it was known by the shipping company.
It could be that the new owners wanted the insurance money, and had the captain in on it.
I doubt any neglect found place in this act of greed.
It’s sad that it’s “unsurprising” that the captain was terrible. Why have so many cruise captains been terrible?!?!
Is this really that common? We're focused here on disaster that become tragedies, so maybe judging the prevalence of malicious captains from this content is skewed. Even on this channel, I feel like most of the captains mentioned do the right thing, or, at least, better than this. This stands out as uncommonly inhumane behavior to me. Maybe I'm wrong. I could be convinced otherwise.
The guy who does these needs to do audio books or meditation podcasts. Such a relaxing voice even though talking about horrible things
I absolutely love his voice too👌😍
Are you two Americans?
@Moses Rocco I’m not, just love his voice. 😀
His first video
"I say 'an investigation was launched' for 10 hours"
I highly disagree. Boring and bland
I remember watching a documentary on this. The random corridors that had no exits must have been terrible, and it all depended on luck; if you chose to run left or right. One man, that was separated from his pregnant wife in the dense smoke, ran with his toddler in his arms and chose the 'correct' path, while his wife was found among other passengers that had been unfortunate enough to be met with a wall instead of an exit.
I saw this documentary too and remember this couple - very sad indeed xx
It really sounds like a scene you would find in some sort of horror story.
@kubey a fascinating horror story
Do you recall what the documentary was called? I should like to watch it if I can find a copy. :)
@Dr.CandyStriper It's available on youtube! :) I suppose that it technically isn't a documentary, but an episode of 'Seconds From Disaster'. It's episode S01E04: "Fire on the star".
Fascinating Horror Video starter pack aka "The recipe for disaster" (Jean Gentry ):
Claimed to be fireproof
Owned by multiple people
Multiple companies constructed
Filled above capacity
Ignored advice from contractor
Untrained staff
Multiple refittings
Toxic and flammable fireproofing
"Recently inspected and found to be in violation of several codes but somehow signed off as fit for purpose anyway" (Paul Berry)
"To make cheaper or cut construction cost" (Alex Jefferson Palita)
"Locked or obstructed Emergency Exits" ( Haruka Tenoh)
"New regulations that passed afterwards that seem like common sense nowadays" (Kilo One)
"It could be a bingo series at this point" ( Jessica R)
It could be a bingo series at this point.
You nearly forgot: recently inspected and found to be in violation of several codes but somehow signed off as fit for purpose anyway.
You forgot the important part
"To make cheaper or to cut construction cost"
@Eadaoin Murphy Locked or obstructed emergency exits
AKA: "The Recipe for Disaster."
My mom and her family we’re going to be on this ship april 9th, on the monday due to her father having to work both saturday and sunday, even though he tried to get that weekend off. Can’t believe that a simple desicion like that can save someone’s life
Well, I sure am glad that simple decision happened!!!
I was a girl guide at the time, Scandinavian Star burned, and one of the members of the troup was on board on that fateful night. She and her whole family (mother, father, sister) now rest in their graves, not far away from my home.
Just goes to show, the most mundane decision can change someone's life and by extension others, God bless!!!🙏👍😎
@@Plysdyret1 haunting way to put it
That's amazing! A small change made a huge difference with your family. I'm 49 and if my stepfather stayed at The Beverly Hills Supper Club that night. I would never had the chance call Les Dad.
"It's fireproof!"
"What if we painted it though" 👁️👄👁️
But we made it shiny!!
Hydrogen-cyanide _schmiadide!_ Let's Shellac it!
Pro life tip: if you go anywhere where the building / ship / etc is described as fireproof / unsinkable / flood resistant / etc... RUN!
Or just don't go there at all
I only ever use boats that are particularly prone to fire. If they can survive being that, I will assume they're safe.
Pro life tip: if you go anywhere new where there are crowds, like a Bar or Cinema ... check where the fire exits and fire services are.
Make sure you run in the right direction, away from the fire!
I'm wearing fire resistant clothing AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH IM ON FIRE
"There was no time for the brand new crew to be trained..."
Then why the fuck was it on the water with passengers?
Oh, because profits > lives, which nearly all of these videos shows is common AF
100%. These bastards should always get life in prison but instead they are rarely held accountable at all.
Soviet boats weren't any safer than greedy capitalist pig boats
@@8bitorgy that would be very obvious as communisim in practice is a failure
@@thegoldengamer9315 not necessarily. That was authoritarianism. It functioned as more of a socialist government than communist one. A communist government has neverbeen put in place, except for temporary ones. The soviets used the name of communism to bring themselves to power and to control Russia. Communism creates a power vacuum and can easily make the system be abused by people who want only power like Stalin and invites instability especially if the previous government has a hard fall like the Czars. It's like the French revolution, where after an absolute monarch was taken down and a new government was put in place to push for equality like equal voting rights free speech, etc. Which brought a reign of terror where France was in turmoil. Basically it was too much too fast and destabilized the country. Communism can only be accomplished as an end goal after decades of slowly socializing a government. And the government should have power if and only if it serves the people and not the people with influence.
@@8bitorgy They're both bad in terms of safety.
They renamed a ship where 158 people died like it was a Vegas stripper to save money on paint?
You know, "Dolla dolla bills bills" 🤷♂️
More likely it was to avoid media and public attention while it sailed to a port where it was to be repaired. There was little point in paying thousands for fresh signwriting when the ship was going to need a complete overhaul anyhow.
They call her “Candy” 🥰
@@shimmershine6902 Just like real candy, the ship didn’t last long and caused nothing but problems for your health!
Don't insult Vegas strippers. They make more money than that ship. 💲💲💲💲💲
July 1, 2021: Discovered this channel
July 19, 2021: Completed my binge of all available episodes. Sadness descended.
July 20, 2021: Woke up to a brand new story. Joy briefly returned to life.
Just out of curiosity, how did you find this channel? It was recommended to me because I watch "Ask a Mortician" videos with Caitlin Doughty (she's awesome, BTW). :)
@@Boxermom0317 honestly, I don’t recall. However, I am a follower of her as well. So maybe?
Same, my dude, my spirit died a little when i realized i had nothing but the new eps to wait for
Try Chubbyemu. There's a recent one about a girl who ate 10 pounds of bananas.
_It has been 13 days since the last Fascinating Horror video was watched. All hope is lost. Whomever finds my body, you are welcome to our stuff. Farewell, dear stranger._
The Scandinavian Star disaster is why passenger ships in Scandinavian waters must now have Scandinavian crew members as to avoid the language barrier issue with evacuation.
Something like that should be implemented in so many more areas of the world in so many more situations. Language barriers can become quite a problem and even people who "should know a language from school" often don't actually speak it.
@@Kkubey This is true. I speak swedish, but only in theory as I haven't needed it in 25 years. Finnish is my native language.
This wouldn't be such a big issue today because scandinavians can speek english well, but a lot has happened in 30 years.
Would have helped a bit with the Costa Concordia.
@@totalhysteria 30 years ago, young kids around here were less fluent in English than they are now.
I really hope they figure out who did this, those poor victims and their families
The real culprits will get away with it as usual. When silver crosses palms, the truth always gets buried.
@@LittleKitty22 and theyre fascists, but theres hope that the dark web will finally put them out of their miserable life made by other fascits
@@militarytankstudios9497 I'm a bit lost, who are the fascists?
You did it and are trying to shift the focus onto some nameless entity. Case closed.
@@militarytankstudios9497 we can only pray the hacker 4chan metes out dark web justice
I just want to know who made the decision to coat the fire resistant walls with a very flammable substance, making the fire resistance pointless
money....
just adds further fuel to theory that fire was caused by the ship's owners
Flammable and toxic.
It was a communication failure between the ship builders, owners and refurbishment contractors. Original safety measures can be unintentionally thwarted when people have to rely on second and third hand information.
A system that fails catastrophically when just one preventative measure fails, is a bad system.
In the 2003 tragic fire at “The Station” nightclub in Rhode Island, the walls of the nightclub were were covered with cheap, but dangerous acoustic foam.
The nightclub was located in an older, very small building. The brothers who owned the nightclub added the acoustic foam on the walls, ostensibly to soundproof the club.
After the pyrotechnics ignited the fire, the foam quickly became toxic. The walls gave off Dark smoke, Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Cyanide. The investigators concluded that if not for the coating on the walls, the death rate would have been much lower.
When the narrator mentioned the chemicals emanating from the ship’s walls, I thought of “The Station”.
Something about hearing how the captain was one of the first off the ship just really ticks me off. Not saying he needs to go down with the ship, but come on.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_captain_goes_down_with_the_ship
Frankly, I feel that if a captain shows cowardice or otherwise fails to at least make an honest attempt at saving the ship and/or it's passengers, then the punishment should be death.
Like you, I don't feel that they have to go down with the ship, but cowardice should not be tolerated.
@@samhouston1288
Yeah, it's the cowardice that gets me. YOU'RE the captain and responsible for the ship and all the souls on board? It's like being a cop or firefighter and you're the first one to run to safety. They say "the captain goes down with the ship" at the very least you should be one of the last ones off.
@@Koorime18 I don’t have a problem with the captain getting off sooner IF it is in aid of improving the rescue - like if the captain needs to be able to better evaluate damage or can get a better perspective on the evacuation from a lifeboat due to the conditions of the problem. But the purpose should be DOING THE JOB BETTER not “flee”.
If he were a real Caption; he would have gone down with the ship and tried to get as many people offboard as possible. Sickening!
Anybody: "This ship/train/building/etc. is fireproof."
Fascinating Horror fans: 😱
We don't trust anyone here
@Thank You. 'Fire proof', but with 'Fire Resistant', materials!!
same thing as saying something was 'unsinkable'
I avoid all buildings, boats, structures that are something-proof. But more and more, I avoid anything besides my house. Can't go in any multi-story buildings here in Florida. Can't go in the water (rip tide, red tide, animals, etc.) Don't want to be around others driving here (they're notoriously bad here). So, home it is!
It seems like saying something like that is just tempting fate.
Just to clear up a few misunderstandings: even though the ship got new owners, the crew mostly remained the same and came from Portugal and other places, and most people from Scandinavia do not speak Portuguese.
Also, the video talks about the Vognmandsruten company as being Dutch (aka from the Netherlands), while in reality it was a Danish company (aka from Denmark), and the passengers on board would have mostly come from Norway, Denmark and Sweden (speaking Norwegian, Danish and Swedish). Passengers from these countries would easily understand enough English to follow directions in an emergency, but IIRC the crew pretty much only spoke Portuguese.
I see these kinds of fundamental mistakes in videos as a trend across this channel. That's a shame because it limits the credibility and thus value the videos presented have.
So tired of dutch and danish being mixed up 😩
It is said to be bad taboo for a vessel to be renamed multiple times.
rather the bad luck of the old name will still be present in the new name of the vessel (for example uboot K13 -> K21)
It's a common superstition that renaming ships is a bad omen. Even just one time is too much for sailors.
Well, renaming often means that the inside is redecorated and they might be sold to a company which just wants a cheap ship, neglecting the maintenance. Also after accidents and the like, the name would be changed not to be associated with any bad happenings. I believe this is why people think this way.
Yep just look at the Estonia.. It changed names numerous times and over 800 people died
It’s only considered bad luck if you rename a ship without a renaming ceremony.
Imagine
You're on a ship, a train, an elevator or just shopping in a nearby mall, when you hear it, faintly, through the speakers, the haunting tune of a familiar music you've heard so many tragedies being narrated on
wyd
Laugh!
(Because God has a hilarious sense of humor I could appreciate before I die.)
Run like hell for safety
"But Aquaman, you cannot marry a woman without gills, you're from two different worlds....I've wasted my life"
To be trapped on a burning boat must be one of the most terrifying experiences
Trapped in a burning skyscraper. 🔥Trapped in the Nutty Putty cave. 🕳 Running out of air while cave diving. 💦 There’s no end. I have not even mentioned saturation diving. 😱
Imagine a Submarine or an Airplane or a Space Station. It gets worse and worse the more isolated and confined you are.
Or a sinking boat ...
@@spiritmatter1553 yeah, come to think of it, these are pretty bad too
Yup, especially at night or in rough weather
Cutting corners, hiring crews that are neither knowledgeable of the ship or able to communicate with the passengers is a recipe for disaster, be it on land, air or sea.
Its not that they hired a crew without knowledge, its that they weren't trained. "Only a month" is bullshit. They should have been trained and able to respond before a single passenger boarded.
Correct.
Most of the crews have knowledge of ships but lack knowledge of the English language. Also in that time period, not as many people in Scandinavia could speak English.
I've watched a few of these videos & I''m starting to think cruises are a bad idea
@@clearcreek69 Cruising is something that one can only try at least once, like just about everything else in life. I would like to go on a transatlantic cruise either to or from Europe. The Cunard or Holland America lines(if you can afford those cruise lines), or other large and reputable lines are capable, but it depends on what you are looking for. And also most important, is the season for cruising.
ALLEGEDLY the captain definitely had a hand in it - his actions are so suspicious, and why would he have evacuated so early??
Steinhauser, Rytter and Guimbatan was behaving suspicious from when they were transfered to when the ship was moored in Lysekil.
I highly doubt Larsen knew the ship as well as those three along with the 6 additional seaescape crewmen
@@skylineXpert I find the whole story about the crew setting the fire highly speculative. My father was a first engineer, and had previously worked on that route for the company that was bought by vognmansruten. My family was also survivors of the fire. So my father also testified in the official inquiry after the disaster as a witness. He didn't believe Steinhauser did anything to deliberately harm the vessel, it's a far too complicated story to explain in a youtube comment.
But basically some of the ventilation was not working in the passenger areas, so steinhauser had opened a door on the car deck and used the powerful extractor fans that is located there to force air through the ship as a workaround. Although not the reason for the fire, it greatly contributed to it's severity.
There also was some drama with him and the swedish fire fighters. Because he wanted to close all the fire doors starve the fire from oxygen and let the fire burn itself out, while they wanted to go about it like a ordinary Building fire, using firehoses and water. The firemen had no clue about fighting fire on a big ship, and no knowledge of the layout of the boat. Which led to arguing and drama. At one point, the ship had become highly unstable, with a list and was dangerously close to capsizing. If steinhauser really wanted to harm the ship he could have helped this prosess. But he helped empty the ship of water instead. One issue was that the pump used to put pressure on the fire hoses, was also going to be used as a bilge pump. The firefighters had to temporary halt their efforts. People believed that this was a deliberate act of sabotage. Because it is possible to keep the pressure on the firehoses using the water from inside the ship. The problem with this however is that it would be contaminated with waste oil, and other debris. Which isn't very good to mix with a fire.
Some of the things Steinhauser did would look suspicious, but it the right context it isn't as bad at it would seem.
Very interesting. I do still wonder 1. why did he assume all the passengers were off the ship? And 2. Why did they double insurance on the ship AFTER receiving a safety warning, then did nothing to improve this? People find these things too convenient. Lives mean nothing to some greedy people.
@@ashn7146 I am pretty confident that it was common practice to insure ships for more then what they where worth.
Captain Larsen was confused about the situation. I believe he was delusional enough to think most people had gotten off. Most people where in a state of shock. Not really understanding what was happening
The narration on these videos is superlative. He clearly goes the extra mile with pronunciation, and also gets the tone perfect for this delicate subject matter. Bravo.
Insomnia always pays off! Changing a vessels name is bad luck.
I won't dispute that but the Seawise Giant had many names in her history and she did alright.
@@sstills951 Belief of 'Bad luck' in the changing of ship names might have some origin in karmic default leading back to when a ship goes horribly wrong in its history...especially with malfeasance involved. Merely changing the name of a vessel in question to hide its history, at least on the surface, is a kick in the balls to the souls of those befallen by any tragedy linked to said vessel.
@@empireoflizards I suppose I didn't think of that way. Thanks
@@empireoflizards So it’s bad luck in the superstitious sense, but in the instant red flag sort of sense? As in “They changed the name of the ship... dude, I’d pass on this one if I were you.”
@@sstills951 yeah, Seawise Giant had several names. And in its life got bought and immediately sent back for engine vibration, sunk by a cruise missile, refloated and then scrapped. If it weren’t for her size Seawise Giant would be considered the poster child for “don’t rename your damn ship”
Shocking how cavalier the captain was in saving his own skin then downplaying the situation. I hope they get to the bottom of it someday soon and those responsible face the consequences of their actions.
They had better hurry up, it’s already been 34 years. They’ll be no one alive to prosecute at this rate.
Hi, the collapsed tree on a concert in the parc de Pourtalès, Strasbourg, France would be a interesting vid
It changed on a national level how much attention was put on meteorological hazards
This Vognmandsruten company is Danish, not Dutch. Hence no-one speaking Dutch
This. Having just searched up "Vognmandsruten K/S, A/S", there is not much information available in English, so a mistake is understandable really. However, if proper research was done, I'm not sure how the Dutch would even come up anywhere as being involved in this disaster.
@@yatokami7907 sadly Dutch/Danish is a common error, after a number of years in Netherlands people still asking me "how's your Danish coming on?"
@@m33446 And Dutch/Deutsch(German) is another common mistake. The Dutch really get mistaken for a lot of their neighbors.
@@Kkubey truth
@@Kkubey Fact.
I like the background music in this one, sounds like a cat walking across a piano while it’s owner records a video on a disaster.
Omg exactly that🐈⬛
ruclips.net/video/78qalYbG4Lw/видео.html is the usual music for this channel
Wow that's a very beautiful description - it's perfect! I can see kitty now, an elegant cat with silky fur walking along the piano, quietly so as not to distract from the respect for those that lost their lives in this terrible disaster.
@@Martin-uf4ut I'm really missing the old music!!!
It's boring. I really like the usual music.
The Captain was one of the first people in to a life-boat! That is terrible - especially bc he said that everyone else was already off the boat!
This reminds me of the MV Sewol Incident, not the fire part but the fact that the captain neglected his job for his own well-being, whilst teenagers died.
Yeah, “I thought everyone was off.” while a whole third of the people were still missing. He expected people to actually believe that?
Them and Schettino
That many people died there'd be no way I would be getting on that ghost ship... You just know there were some unhappy spirits aboard...
Some unhappy lagers aboard too
So what you are saying is not a single person who died went to heaven rather they are haunting an old ocean liner? I see.
7:13 “…some posited have been an attempt to scupper the vessel…”
Not gonna lie….I looked up those terms. I feel slightly more educated having learned history and English in the same video.
I believe that's "scuttle".
@@EliWCoyote until you realize scupper is a nautical term meaning a hole in the bulwarks of a ship.
(More truth: now I’m going to look up bulwarks and make sure I know what that means.) 😳
EliWCoyote I guess you scupper the ship to scuttle it.
Why aren't more people talking about how perfect his voice is for this
Someone mentions it on every video.
But he wasn't saying people aren't posting comments about it, he was simply wondering why more people weren't doing it (than the ones who already do it).
Because it's not his first video?
people wont shut up about it
I'd love to see a video on the Melbourne West Gate Bridge collapse!
Or the Tasman Bridge collapse as well
Just prior to the collapse, another bridge of similar design that he was involved with collapsed in the UK. Whilst in Melbourne he was reassuring the BC workers that the West Gate Bridge construction techniques and design were sound.
The designer of the West Gate Bridge was a fatality in the collapse.
Yes, I second that
@@bozlakian3329 , I was 5 years old when The Tasman Bridge collapsed. We lived about 5 minutes drive away…..still remember our house trembling and the glass rattling in the windows. My husbands cousin was sadly one of the people who drove off the bridge😢
Oooo, yes please
My dad and grandfather was on this ship, as firefighters. Dad marked and counted bodies after the fact. He was 24 and rather new to the job at the time. Im 27 now and often think of how that must have shaped his worldview.
Grandfather was a firecaptain and coordinator, he is in several of the longer documentaries about the star. The heat was so severe that the "smokedivers" had to take shorter dives than usual because the soles of their shoes melted to the floor.
Greed. The grimreaper’s best working ad.
no, its fascism, why, its because greed is apart of fascism
@@militarytankstudios9497
Greed can be in communists as well, it isn’t exclusive to fascists, hell it isn’t exclusive to political ideologies either
9:10 - Yes, there is a memorial in Lysekil built recently, however the picture you are displaying is of the memorial in Oslo that stands on the quay beneath Akkershus Castle. I walk past it every time I travel to Oslo from Copenhagen.
What is that memorial for?
@@civillady13 It's for the people who died in the fire.
Yep. I walked past it today in Oslo.
I hope you could one day also cover the 1996 Ozone Disco Club fire in the Philippines, where 160 died due to poor fire safety regulations as well.
Cannot WAIT for the Miami condo collapse episode to come out. Might be waiting a while on that one… 😞
Same!
I was just thinking that!
Grenfell would probably come before that.
Always morbidly fascinating to learn about.
I know right, this is some
Fascinating Horror
history to learn about
@Dirty Magic11 interesting theory. Never thought of it that way
Hence the channel name, 'Fascinating Horror'
@Dirty Magic11 I never thought of that. I think my depression has fueled my interest, and I've wondered why I'm drawn to it so much more lately. I don't think it's because I want to die, though...you might be on to something about it making us grateful for living, even though things feel like they really suck in our lives at the moment.
@@voutsider190 That's why a lot of people (or at least just me) enjoy horror movies, even though we'd rather not get scared in our normal everyday lives. Your anxiety ramps up, only to be hit with a subconscious feeling of relief knowing that you're safe and just watching a movie
Interviewer: "If the ship were sinking, burning or falling over, would you leave?"
Person: "No, of course not!"
Interviewer: "I'm sorry. It doesn't seem you have the right stuff to be a cruise ship captain."
When ships were wooden they would burn down to the waterline, when they started being made out of meta,l when there was a fire on a ship oftentimes it could be turned into a floating crematorium. Like what happened to the SS Noronic.
Pretty sure burning to the waterline is also a death warrant for those on board.
@@marvindebot3264 Good point!
Yikes. Now there's a thought.
@@marvindebot3264 But unlike when ships were made out of wood the ashes of the victims would be mixed in with the ashes of the wood from the ship, But with metal ships they are just cremated inside the metal walls or burned up horribly.
Floating tombs of fire
At first I thought the Captain was a coward and then it started looking like he's actually a *monster...* Well shit...
There was no excuse for the astonishingly poor emergency preparedness onboard this ship. Crew emergency training should have been (and probably was) mandatory before a single passenger stepped onboard the newly acquired vessel.
Agreed. Any member of the crew should be able to find their way out from any point on board the ship under limited visibility conditions (e.g. smoke filled corridors, darkness) and should be able to at least know enough of the most common passenger language(s) to point people towards the exits and perform other safety critical tasks (it is just a few sentences after all)
"There was no excuse for the astonishingly poor emergency preparedness onboard this ship."
If it was arson committed for insurance fraud, then that's exactly what you want.
@@jvccr7533 Murder or manslaughter investigations are the last thing you would want if you intended to commit insurance fraud. The police put a LOT more resources into investigating suspicious loss of life than they do for fraud. Would you really want dozens of police poking around the ship in addition to the accident investigation people?
The smartest thing to do would have been to ensure absolutely no one died and that would mean having your crew well-trained in emergency procedures.
@@andymanaus1077 reasonably no, you indeed wouldn't. Was sure there were cases like this, but couldn't find any on the spot.
And at the inquiry the crew argued that training drills wouldnt have helped and at worst would "make the situation more confusing, this way the crew ran straight to exits and led passengers to safety".
You know, except the 158...smh
I love your content. You cover heavy topics that we have an undeniable morbid fascination with, but do so as respectfully as you can. No reveling in the carnage, just the facts as we know them, presented in a straightforward manner.
Can we get one of the Westgate bridge collapse?
My step dad was there that day and it was a truly tragic event that not many people know the details of
Was he ok?
I'll never forget the radio interviews from that day. Blokes mourning their dead mates like: "what'll become of his wife and kids?" It was haunting. PS there was another much earlier tragedy when putting an under-water pipe from the Williamstown side where a bunch of workers got drowned in the air-lock. There's also the story of the first train from Geelong to Melbourne where a bloke lost his head leaning out of the train engine. Lots of interesting and tragic stories from our local history. I wish someone made a movie about them one day.
Westgate Bridge collapse video please
@@snakeinateacup869 He is okay, but he lost a good friend :(
I'd love to see a video on the MS Estonia disaster from 1994. It would be a very interesting video!
Who would've thought that a massive metal vehicle which is surrounded by water, can be so vulnerable to fire
What's sad, is you can't just willy nilly spray water either, you could easily capsize the ship
This just makes me think of the sea parks scene on The IT crowd
the point of a ship is to keep the water on the OUTSIDE
I recently found this channel and have been binging the videos. It's quickly become my favourite documentary channel. I like the concise nature of the videos and the clear, steady pace of the narration. The script is well written and easy to follow.
Love the video 👍 This case has been covered in numerous documentaries here in Scandinavian until just recently, and has always strongly fascinated me. Vognmandsruten is by the way a Danish company 🙏
The Captain: "I didn't start the fire, it was always burning since the world was turning"
We didn't start the fire Billy Joel comes to mind
🔥🔥🔥🔥🤘🌚🤘🔥🔥🔥🔥
Go to your room, Boss. No dinner either.
Though we didn't light it we tried to fight it.
One of my favs by Billy 😊
There couldn't be a more perfect voice to narrate these. You do an excellent job.
Thank you! I'm glad you made the video about Scandinavian star. My dad is a fisher in Denmark and the disaster shocked most of the marine industry here.
Tuesday, the weekly appointement for a horror vid
I remember seeing the episode of Seconds From Disaster on this fire, but it was made prior to the final inquiry & thus didn’t get into the exact cause. Learning the full details of it being an organized arson makes it all worse.
The sinkin of MS Estonia took the lives of over 800 people. The reason why it sank is still shrouded in numerous conspiracy theories and mysteries. Only now the investigation has been re opened and they have already found new tears in the ship's hull. There is so many weird things surrounding this event. Would be really cool if you made a video about this.
Original dives reported the loading ramp closed.
Eye vitness reports of the crew with camera access of the car deck say the ramp was closed as the ship was already listing.
Eyewitness reports from passengers below the car deck of water rushing up from below.
Official report: Estonias bow visor failed and lowered the car deck ramp, flooding estonia with water.
It's not even a conspiracy theory that the Swedish military smuggled soviet equipment out of Estonia on the ship with the same name.
@@Pottan23 Almost all of the crew that survived was flown away with private non registered aircrafts and their whereabouts are unknown for even their family members. The captain of the ship was taken in the hospital but the records say that he drowned with the ship, even though there are eye witnesses that saw him at the hospital. Nobody knows where he is now.
They are/were starting the investigation this month, so it might be early for a video. The construction is very likely to at least be a part of why it sank, and the company that built it wanted this investigation badly to find anything that could have gone wrong that wasn't their fault, while especially Sweden didn't want this to be touched at all. I am, however, not aware how important peace after death is in the Swedish culture. If there are those type of interests involved, it can get really messy.
@@Pottan23 i can maybe see the (HORRIBLE) locks on the door on the bow visor snapping at the bottom of the sea. but /:
"the walls are fireproof?"
"Ja."
"Meaning they'll burn slowly and resist the effects of flames?"
"Ja."
"Great, coat it with something. That way when it burns away, the fireproofing will take effect and fight the fire!"
".....ja."
I showed my dad some of FH videos about ferry boat fires and accidents and he told me "It would be really interesting to see him do one about The Scandinavian Star" and I had never heard of it before and he told me some of the details that was covered in this video. I couldn't believe my eyes when it popped up on my sub feed. Cant wait to show it to him.
“The vast majority of the crew could not speak Norwegian, or English, or Dutch…”
The heck did they speak? Klingon?
There are other languages, you know.
@@Koreviking Yes, I gather that, but the location of the vessel suggests Norwegian, Dutch, and English should have been somewhat spoken amongst a slight majority of the crew. My guess is they spoke Swedish or Danish.
They were probably from the Philippines, a lot ships hire workers from over there because the wages are lower. They were already cutting costs on everything else.
@@jonathancarlson6127 but Norwegian, Danish and Swedish are all quite similar and can be understood, ofc in a panic situation it poses some difficulties... But I'm native Swedish speaking and I understand most of Norwegian and a lot of Danish, just because the grammar and words are mostly similar. I guess there might have been Germans or Russians on board or something?
@@tunnjessica I'm thinking in 1990 did they have ex-Soviet immigrants already? Russian, Estonian, Baltic. Or perhaps from other east block countries? Those would have been cheap labor at the time (the countries were doing really bad financially), and most of them unable to speak Scandinavian languages or English.
"It was renamed The Candi"
Great, now it's a stripper ship.
Love this channel and have watched every one of your videos…..Fantastic narration and very detailed descriptions THANK YOU 🙏
The Flood of 1955 in Putnam, CT would be a good one as well.
Well, I finally did it. I (intentionally) binge watched all your videos, and am now feeling despair, not knowing what else it is I'm to do with my life. One of your videos happened across my suggested feed, and intrigued me. I watched, and was immediately hooked. The content, the delivery, the quite clear lack of begging for subscribers and likes, as well as the lack of exaggerative, speculative or assumptive angles come together in such a way as to provide to the viewer, dare I say, a perfect presentation of well-researched, clearly-articulated, factually-based information. You, sir, are a master craftsman, and this channel being evidence of that. Please, continue. I count your channel among the very few that I have "rung the bell" on. A (very high) standard has been set with this channel. I look forward to future videos, and your continued growth.
As a Norwegian I remember this vividly. I was just a brat at the time and was most worried about regular TV-shows getting taken off the air in favor of constant news broadcasts!
How nice it would be to still be an ignorant, privileged child huh. I don't know why exactly I remember this now, but around 2 - 4 years ago there was a fire in a building close by in an area that is very industrial, a lot of stuff in a lot of warehouses, often not safely stored, and there is also a lot of shops and general office buildings, it was the second or third fire there within only a few years and you never quite know what will be affected and how bad it could be, and then there was this child on the tram crying because she didn't get to go to where the smoke comes from because her parents said it was too dangerous but it would have been "so great to see". Those things just seem so different to children.
Happened the same to me, but was the day of the WTC 😕
I was only 5 when MS Estonia sank, so I don't remember how big the coverage was for us Swedes (the majority of the passengers were Swedish), but I remember my dad saying "It feels like it was yesterday." on the 20's anniversary of the sinking.
@@Kkubey yeah sometimes children can't grasp the severity of the situation. sometimes that lack of understanding can put them in danger.
Hey don't feel bad, one of my early memories is being cranky that Saturday morning cartoons were being preempted for a report about some guy named Nelson getting out of jail...
I had been thinking of suggesting this as a topic, but wasn't sure there'd be enough material to fill an episode. Great job!
You can tell it's Tuesday morning: Fascinating Horror dropped a new video.
Don’t you love a good routine?
Tuesday night here 8.44pm
I follow your channel because I appreciate the lessons learned that you extract from these tragic disasters, especially those that lead to improved regulations and serve as a tribute to prevent future victims
A Video about the sinking of the Estonia would be great
Yes!!
I think it's so good that you are sharing the causes and mistakes behind tragic accidents, thereby spreading more knowledge and awareness of safety regulation, and discouraging negligence. It's likely that your channel will contribute - or may have already contributed - to the saving of thousands of lives. Thank you for your hard work!
Psst, it’s 30 years on now 😮Fascinating story as always. RIP to the 158.
This is an example of true investigative journalism which is many times lacking nowadays.
Can you also make a video on the sinking of the MS Estonia?
It is really not that well known despite being the worst maritime disaster in modern times
plainly difficult has a video on it with over 400k views for anyone who wants to watch something about it if fascinating horror doesn't cover it :)
It is also one of the most controversial since the reason why it sank and events that followed are shrouded in mystery.
@@TehPorkkana Yeah the Swedish government tried to cover the ship in concrete and made it illegal to dive around the wreck
Netflix have done a really great docuseries on the MS Estonia
@@dangerousandy just tried to search for it on Netflix and I couldn't find it
I love your videos. When one pops up, it’s always the video that starts my day. Thanks for this - I had never heard of the Scandinavian Star.
"That's some nice fire-resistant material, let's give it a highly flammable coating."
"That's a nice airbag, let's cover it in spikes."
The method of delivery along with the foreboding music always has me checking for new videos, keep up the great work 👍
Recomendation for a video: The sinking of MS Estonia. Almost 1000 dead, many mysteries surrounding why it sank.
Yes I lost a good friend on the Estonia . I remember seeing that ship in a Stockholm harbour just before the tragedy. I still remember to this day , that the Estonia seemed to have like a haze around her . I was a tour guide at the time around Scandinavia . Very sad . I believe the Estonia is still on the sea bed . No attempt was ever made to bring her back up to the surface !! I wonder why !! 😮😮😮.
I suggested this topic a few months ago, as someone living in Finland I'm fascinated and horrified by the fates of the victims and the still mysterious cause of the accident. He replied he'd been planning on making a video on it, but I think it will take a while
God bless John Manning . He too was a tour guide . 🙏❤️
Rest in peace John x
@@maureenhenderson720 they never raised her or took any of the bodies home for very suspicious reasons. They just wanted the whole thing covered in gravel and concrete and people where shushed down. It's all very sad and bizarre why they would act that way. I'm also sorry for your loss
This is one of the best channels I've ever seen. Thank you for the top-quality content!
I really like the pensive piano backing.
my mom is watching a newer documentary series on this very boat, and as a norwegian who has taken ferries from Oslo all my life, even onboard the Stena Saga which is a part of this story, i had to come back to this video once more, and probably will regularly
in situations like this, the owners and people who had inspected and approved these boats, structures, whatever, should all be held liable for the deaths of people from negligence
and theyre fascists who should be in prison
As always, a moving and achingly beautiful presentation.
Could you please make a video on Anarisolyckan? It is the worst fjäll accident in swedish history
The worst what?
Lol
@@Shinzon23 fjäll means mountains / mountainrange
@@Shinzon23 it's the worst Mountain accident in swedish history. Fjäll is a swedish word for Mountain range
I've never actually heard of this before which is surprising considering that usually people dying in the mountains from mysterious causes gets a lot more press...1978 yes?
I could not find anything in English on it...
I love these longer videos, there's so much you teach us and i genuinely appreciate it
Another excellent vid! Could you do one on the kings cross fire?
Yes, I would love to see a video of the Kings Cross Underground fire. My dad was a fireman working on that shout. It was one of the last major incidents he attended before retirement.
I like that you're so respectful in these videos and don't sensationalise things or show images just for shock value.
Have you researched the Shoreham Airshow Disaster?
you’re doing a great job! keep posting
Thank you for the way you present these. Just the facts and no unnecessary gore, I love to learn about history, but its hard to to learn about darker topics without having horrible images burnt into my memory. Thank you.
Such a horror. Passengers hardly had a chance to survive with everything that gone wrong in that ship 😨
My partner and I have been so glad to discover this channel! I would love to hear an episode about the Sultana steamboat explosion on the Mississippi River in 1865, which iirc is considered the worst maritime disaster in US history, though relatively few people have heard of it. Corruption, greed, human error, disaster. It has all the right ingredients, but was overshadowed at the time by the news of the death of President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, the day before the explosion happened.
Please tell me the captain was charged for abandoning ship in the early stages of the fire! He should have been the last to evacuate.
Also, I'm reconsidering my desire to one day take a cruise (or riding a train, or entering a building...) after watching this channel, lol.
This is one of the best channels out there that cover this type of content! As always, keep it up!
There are many other downsides. Cruise ships are bad for the environment, treat their workers like crap, ignore many safety regulations and crime on board often goes unpunished due to their flag states not caring much about it, they are bad for the cities they visit, obviously in the pandemic we have seen how easily they can become plague ships,...
@@Taladar2003 At the time this ship was being used as a ferry.
As always, truly fascinating! And congrats on all the subscribers sir! I started watching about 8 months ago and knew your channel would be massive! Thanks for your hard work to remind people of the victims and the tragedies that brought about safer codes we have today.
I was 3 when we were supposed to be on this ship that night. We had just gotten our key for our room and about to board the ship when my mom suddenly felt really sick to her stomach and felt like throwing up. She had been feeling off all day and mixed up about taking this trip. Because of her bad feeling she managed to persuade my father to go back home, he was bummed that the tickets gone to waste.
The next day they saw the news, my father was speechless and my mother physically threw up. My mother cried for days and couldn’t sleep for a long time. They later learned that our room was on the same deck as the main fire.
To think that I could have died that night with my parents but due to her sixth sense we didn’t, is really mind fucking me.
Thank you for doing this. On 16 March 1988 the MS Scandinavian Star had and engine room fire. The crew couldn't read the firefighting equipment instructions because they were in Danish, the officers only spoke English (the crew were mostly from South America and only spoke spanish). Only two people were injured in this fire. After the MS Scandinavian Star called the US Coast Guard in Miami, they passed it off to the cutter I was serving on and this, the 1988 fire, was my first search and rescue case as a Radioman.
Love it when that song kicks in!!!
I love your channel, even though the subject matter is always morbid. I really appreciate your efforts in both respecting the passed and giving the viewers an accurate depiction of what happened! 🙂