TSMS Lakonia was an ocean liner that was launched in 1929 for Netherland Line as the ocean liner Johan van Oldenbarnevelt. In 1962 she became the Greek Line cruise ship TSMS Lakonia. On 22 December 1963 she caught fire at sea and on 29 December she sank. 128 people were killed in the disaster.
In the 1930s Johan van Oldenbarnevelts regular route was between Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies. She served in the Second World War as an Allied troop ship. She was refitted several times and latterly became a cruise ship.
In 1962 Netherland Line sold her to a Greek company, the Shipping Investment Corporation, who renamed her Lakonia and for whom the Greek Line managed her for cruising. From April 1963 Greek Line operated her on cruises from Southampton.
On 22 December 1963 fire broke out during a Christmas cruise. As the fire spread, alarms sounded too softly to be heard by most people aboard. Evacuation was hampered by the overcrowding of lifeboats and the loss of several boats to fire. Some deaths were caused by the fire itself, others by accidents when abandoning ship, and others by exposure or drowning in the sea.
Lakonias crew successfully launched just over half of her lifeboats. Some passengers were able to reach the water via gangways and rope ladders. Two ships alerted by distress signals managed to save most of the others.
On 24 December ocean tugs took Lakonia in tow and tried to tow her to Gibraltar. But the ship had developed a list and on 29 December she sank in the Atlantic.
A board of inquiry traced the fire to faulty electrical wiring, but strongly criticised the maintenance of equipment, thoroughness of lifeboat drills, and the standard of supervision. Eight of the ship's officers were charged with negligence.
Building
Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij built Johan van Oldenbarnevelt in Amsterdam. Her yard number was 194. She was launched on 3 August 1929 and completed on 13 March 1930. The same shipyard built a sister ship, Marnix van St. Aldegonde, which was launched in December 1929 and completed in September 1930. Both ships were built for Netherland Line to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services between Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies.
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was named after a Dutch soldier and statesman of the same name who was beheaded in 1619.
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was a motor ship with two Sulzer marine diesel engines driving her two propellers. Between them the engines developed 1,555 NHP and gave her a cruising speed of . The ship was long, had a beam of and her tonnage was .
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was the 89th ship built for the Netherland Line. When she was launched she was the largest ship yet built in the Netherlands. The artist Carel Adolph Lion Cachet and sculptor Lambertus Zijl decorated her interior with teak, marble, and many statues, mosaics, tapestries and chandeliers.
As built, she had berths for 770 passengers: 366 in first class, 280 in second, 64 in third and 60 in fourth class. She had berths for 360 crew. She had four decks and could carry 9,000 tons of cargo.
Until 1933 the ship's code letters were PGHB. In 1934 they were superseded by the maritime call sign PFEB. Until 1939 she was registered in Amsterdam.
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
World War II service
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Holland America Line chartered Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, re-registered her in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies and used her as a cargo ship between Batavia and New York City.
On 20 January 1941 she was requisitioned to be an Allied troop ship, and was converted by Harland and Wolff to carry up to 4,000 troops. Orient Line managed her. In 1943 she was re-registered in Willemstad, Curaçao. After servicing India, Singapore and Penang, she finally returned to her home port of Amsterdam on 13 February 1946.
Her sister ship, Marnix van St. Aldegonde, also served as a troop ship. German aircraft sank her by torpedo off the Algerian coast, but all 3,000 troops and crew were saved by rescue ships.
Post-war service
After Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was released from government service, Netherland Line had her refitted and in 1946 returned her to service on the Amsterdam – Batavia route. From 1945 until 1949 Indonesians fought for their independence from the Netherlands. For several years the ship ferried Dutch troops returning home from Indonesia.