Freak Waves

NARRATOR: But the Caledonian Star was lucky. Her engines were still working. The crew boarded up the windows and eventually the ship limped back to port, but another ship out at sea at that time was less fortunate. The Bremen was a German cruise liner. Again she was built to withstand anything the South Atlantic could throw at her. On board were 137 tourists. They too were hit by a giant 30m wave which devastated the bridge.

CAPT HEINZ AYE (MS Bremen): The bridge wasn't operable. All the nautical tools, instruments, the whole electronics failed immediately with the break-in of seawater.

NARRATOR: Everything including radar equipment, weather faxes, ventilator, alarms, everything malfunctioned. All the instruments short-circuited, the steering gear failed completely. The ship was in distress, not manoeuvrable, but unlike the Caledonian Star the Bremen also lost her engines. The ship and all on board were now in desperate trouble. Unable to power her way through the sea the ship drifted side on to the waves exposing her weakest parts.

REINHARD FISCH (Chief Engineer MS Bremen): When the engine failed the ship lay transversely to the sea and the sea rolled crossways to the ship against the big windows of the restaurant.

NARRATOR: This was the worst situation possible. The restaurant windows are extremely weak. If they were hit by any large wave water would flood in and the ship would sink.

REINHARD FISCH (WITH TRANSLATION): We would have capsized. It would have broken through or smashed the windows.

NARRATOR: It was now a race against time. To turn the ship away from the waves they desperately needed to restart the engine, but the starter generator was in pieces on the floor. If they couldn't start the engine the ship and everyone on her was doomed.

REINHARD FISCH: We came from the Antarctic and had nearly zero degree water temperature and the air temperature was the same. In those high sea conditions it wouldn't have been possible to put lifeboats of life jackets or life rafts in the water. As well as that, the passengers we sail with aren't the youngest anymore. I doubt any of us would have survived.

NARRATOR: So in dark, rolling seas they set to repairing the engine. All the time the waves were smashing against the windows and then they got lucky. The engine finally started.

REINHARD FISCH: Then for the first time I had hope we would make it. There are wonderful moments when you know everything works normally again.

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