Inside the Oceanos Disaster: The Night a Sinking Cruise Ship Was Left Without Its Officers During a Violent Storm

Inside the Oceanos Disaster: The Night a Sinking Cruise Ship Was Left Without Its Officers During a Violent Storm

From Deck Tales: Secrets From The Sea. Behind the Scenes Stories from Cruise Ships and Crew Members from Maritime and Sea Life by Sam Catling - Sea Life Story Teller

April 22, 2026 · 1h 42m · Season 3 · Episode 54

About this episode

This episode features Moss Hills recounting his experiences during the Oceanos disaster and another maritime emergency aboard the Achille Lauro.

Ep54:Moss Hills This episode of  Deck Tales  follows  Moss Hills , a self-taught musician turned cruise director, whose career at sea includes surviving not one—but two—major maritime disasters. The story centers on the sinking of the  Oceanos , where Moss and the entertainment team were thrust into leadership after the ship lost power during a storm and senior officers abandoned their posts. With no communication, training, or guidance, they improvised an evacuation—organizing passengers, loading lifeboats in dangerous conditions, and ultimately coordinating a rescue via radio from the empty bridge.  Despite the chaos, all passengers survived, thanks largely to the initiative of non-crew personnel like Moss and his colleagues.  The episode then shifts to Moss’s experience aboard the  Achille Lauro , a ship already infamous for a past hijacking. During his time onboard, a fire broke out at sea, leading to another emergency evacuation. Unlike the Oceanos, the crew maintained command and communication, but the situation escalated quickly as the fire spread.  Moss again found himself in the middle of the crisis—helping passengers evacuate…

People in this episode

Host: Sam Catling

Guest: Moss Hills

Topics covered

  • maritime disaster
  • leadership
  • cruise ship
  • evacuation
  • survival
  • resilience

Keywords

  • Oceanos
  • Achille Lauro
  • cruise director
  • maritime disasters
  • evacuation
  • leadership
  • survival
  • storm

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oceanos, Achille Lauro

More episodes of Deck Tales: Secrets From The Sea. Behind the Scenes Stories from Cruise Ships and Crew Members from Maritime and Sea Life

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Deck Tales: Secrets From The Sea. Behind the Scenes Stories from Cruise Ships and Crew Members from Maritime and Sea Life podcast page.