GREECE: Even most modern ships lack elementary safety features

So what is your point is posting this article, instead of you helping
the victims of the carnage in Instanbul you spend your time bashing
Greece and her people.Get a life moron, do something constructive
little man.

WolfWolf wrote:

Ferry fire, passenger ire

Blaze on Knossos Palace put out but people could not disembark
20 November 2003

ANA
Fire brigade members help passengers disembark from the Knossos Palace ferry in
Iraklion yesterday, using a mobile stairway belonging to Olympic Airways. Hydraulic
cranes also were used to get passengers off the ship after a fire in a truck in the
garage caused damage to the drawbridge. The ship, one of Greece’s most modern ferries,
was carrying 1,040 passengers and 116 crew members. The blaze was extinguished
quickly. An inquiry has been launched.

More than 1,000 passengers aboard one of Greece’s most modern high-speed ferries, the
Knossos Palace, had to don life jackets and assemble on the ship’s decks early
yesterday when a truck carrying chemicals caught fire in the garage. The fire was
extinguished by the ship’s sprinkler system and crew members. But after the ship
arrived in the Cretan port of Iraklion, it took over three hours for all passengers to
disembark through emergency exits as the cables providing power to the drawbridge had
been damaged in the fire. Officials used mobile stairs belonging to Olympic Airways
and fire brigade hydraulic lifts to get passengers off the ship.

Of the 1,040 passengers and 116 crew members, three elderly passengers were treated
for breathing problems. Twenty-eight vehicles were damaged.

Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Paschalidis ordered an inquiry into whether
regulations had been followed in loading a truck carrying inflammable substances and
whether Iraklion’s port had the necessary safety equipment to deal with such
emergencies. The general secretary of the region of Crete, Athanassios Karountzos,
filed suit against anyone found to be responsible in the incident, charging that port
authorities had no safety equipment and saying his coordination had got everyone
safely off the ship. He noted that the incident raised safety issues ahead of the
Athens 2004 Olympics, when Iraklion will host some soccer matches.

The Knossos Palace, which can carry 2,200 passengers and 600 cars, left Piraeus for
Iraklion at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. A truck loaded with 30 tons of agricultural chemicals,
acetone and cosmetics caught fire at 3.40 a.m. yesterday when the ship was 40 nautical
miles northwest of Iraklion. Initial hypotheses were that the acetone may have come
into contact with other chemicals, starting the fire. The alarm went off and
passengers were helped to don life jackets as they assembled at muster stations. The
Merchant Marine Ministry ordered nearby ships to the scene, with the Kriti II and
Aegean Glory ferries and coast guard vessels getting there quickly. A Super Puma
rescue helicopter was standing by. After the fire was put out, the ship arrived in
Iraklion at about 6.20 a.m. By 9.45 all passengers had disembarked. Many of them
accused port officials of disorganization.

The Knossos Palace was delivered to Minoan Lines in early 2001.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w.../11/2003_36513