The tow, the wreck, the end……
The AMERICAN STAR had been considered again as a floating hotel off the island of Phuket and left Greece for again another refit. She was dry docked and surprisingly after many years of neglect her hull was in remarkably good condition. (It was her bilge pipes that had caused her flooding in the past). Due to her port anchor been hastily cut away on one of her near sinking episodes during layup and odd looking anchor was put back in place. Her bridge was hastily painted bright orange – so that tug crews could see her in low light.
Her propellers were removed and stored on her bow to prevent drag and windmilling and she was taken under tow by the Ukrainian tug Neftegaz 67. It is said that the ‘AMERICAN STAR’ was on her way to Thailand, not to be scrapped but to be converted into a floating hotel. The “AMERICAN STAR” left for her journey but problems began straight away, the ship would not tow straight and at times zig zagged and almost overtook the tug. They returned to port where her stern anchor was removed and a sea drogue ran from her rear hawser allowing a more controlled tow.
Her course was around South Africa and upto Thailand, a long dangerous tow for a liner. The reason for not going the shorter route through the Mediterranean and Suez / Red Sea was due to authorities not allowing ships under tow and without power to traverse the Suez Canal.
On January 15th 1994, whilst been towed in the Atlantic Ocean near the Canary Islands a storm raged for many days and in rough weather the towlines broke and the ‘AMERICAN STAR’ was a drift with no power with four-salvage crew on board. Over the following days the Neftegaz 67 and a Spanish tug Punta Mayor, sent to assist, attempted unsuccessfully to get a towline on board. On January 17th 1994 the four crewmen were winched by helicopter to safety from the doomed ship. That morning she went aground, arguments between insurance companies, ownership and salvage commenced and this delay caused the the grand liner to break in half.
I still do not understand why, both her bow anchors could not have been dropped, they use brakes and gravity to drop (my understanding) and power to raise them. I believe before leaving the ship if they had let both anchors go the ship may have held and been able to be taken under tow in better weather ?
Color photo – source unknown. Black and white by Stamos C Ioannou
As a side note, 14 years later in March 2008, the Neftgatz 67 collided with another vessel and capsizsed and sank in 35m water, 18 crew from the tug perished in the event.
Wreck today or home