SARATOGA CV-60 Haifa Israel visit ends in Tragedy

NEW YORK TIMES - Dec. 24, 1990 20Show more

Confirmed Dead in Ferry Accident.

Under a dark sky and a steady cold drizzle, helicopters circled the Haifa bay this afternoon looking for the missing after a ferry carrying American sailors capsized and sank on Saturday.

Israeli navy divers recovered the body of one sailor today, bringing to 20 the number of Americans who drowned in the sinking of the ferry, which was taking them back to the aircraft carrier Saratoga after Christmas shore leave.

In a news conference on board the Saratoga, the ship's commanding officer, Capt. Joseph S. Mobley, said one sailor was still not accounted for, raising the prospect that 21 sailors, all enlisted men, have perished.

The carrier had arrived at Haifa on Friday for a rest and recreation stop after more than four months of duty in the Red Sea as part of United States operations in the Persian Gulf region. Gathering black clouds and high waves added to the gloomy mood of the more than 4,500 sailors aboard the ship, who held a memorial service this afternoon to honor their dead shipmates.

After a somber memorial for the dead men, another senior officer, Adm. Nick Gee, the commanding officer of the Saratoga battle group, said the cause of the sinking of the ferry, which carried 102 sailors, was still under investigation.

Officials said they expected Israeli and American divers to raise the ferry for an examination. They said Israeli and American experts were in Haifa to conduct separate investigations.

On Saturday, American Embassy officials said a special Navy investigative team was being sent to Israel to direct an inquiry into why the ferry sank so quickly and so suddenly. They said the men aboard had only seconds to jump to safety. Many never made it out of the lower cabin because they were trying to escape through narrow windows. Movement on Ferry Not a Factor.

One of the sailors rescued from the heavy seas on Saturday denied reports that the accident had occurred because a large number of sailors had moved to one side of the ferry as a high wave hit the vessel.
The sailor, John Richardson, was interviewed at Rambam Hospital here as he was waiting for a helicopter to take him back to the ship. He said the bilge pumps had stopped functioning shortly before the ferry sank. The boat "was taking quite a bit of water when we were hit by the wave," he said.

The memorial service began aboard the Saratoga at 2 P.M. in Hangar No. 1 , a large rectangular hall decorated with 20 American flags -- one for each of the men confirmed as dead -- and 20 Navy caps placed in the middle of the hanger.

More than 1,200 of the carrier's crew members stood along the walls surrounding seated American and Israeli dignitaries and officers who came to pay their respect.

The sea in the Haifa bay was still turbulent today, so much so that the Navy decided to transport guests and journalists by helicopter.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of Israeli dignitaries, including the Israeli Army commander, Lieut. Gen. Dan Shomron, the commanders of the navy and the air force and several senior officials from the city of Haifa.

"There are no words that can express the heartfelt sorrow that this entire 5,000-man ship feel," Admiral Gee said as many in the room listened with tears clouding their eyes.

In the news conference that followed, Captain Mobley said 81 of the 102 people aboard the ferry had been rescued. Nearly 40 men were hospitalized in Rambam Hospital, within sight of the Saratoga.

The captain denied a report, published in the Israeli press and transmitted by some news agencies, that at least one of the sailors who drowned had been handcuffed.

One American official said that although no sailors on the ferry had been handcuffed, one sailor who had apparently been intoxicated and deeply shaken after being rescued from the cold Mediterranean waters on Saturday morning might have been restrained with handcuffs briefly after he had been returned to shore.

LIST OF THE DEAD FROM WASHINGTON: Dec. 23 (REUTERS)
The Atlantic Fleet today released the names of the 20 sailors known to have drowned in a ferry accident at the Israeli port of Haifa on Friday.

One sailor was listed as still missing in the accident, Anthony J. Fleming, 25, of Buffalo, N.Y.

Here are the names of the dead released by fleet headquarters in Norfolk, Va.:

BELLIVEAU, Michael L., 24 years old, Lakewood, Colo.
BROWN, Christopher B., 19, Leslie, Ga.
BROWN, Darrell K., 19, Memphis, Tenn.
CARRINGTON, Monray C., 22, North Braddock, Pa.
CLARK, Larry M., 21, Decatur, Ga.
DELGADO, Delwin, 26, Jacksonville, Fla.
FONTAINE, Gilbert, 22, Spring Valley, N.Y.
HUYGHUE, Wilton L., 20, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
JACKSON, Timothy J., 20, Anniston, Ala.
JONES, Alexander, 19, St. Louis, Mo.
KEMP, Nathaniel, 18, Greenwood, Fla.
McCREIGHT, Brent A., 23, Eminence, Ky.
NEEL, Randy L., 19, Albuquerque, N.M.
PLUMMER, Marvin J., 27, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
SCHIEDLER, Matthew J., 20, Hubbard, Ore.
SEAY, Timothy B., 22, Thomaston, Ga.
SETTIMI, Jeffrey A., 25, Fort Wayne, Ind.
STEWART, Roderick T., 20, Shreveport, La.
SHUKERS, Jeffrey W., 28, Union, Iowa
WILKINSON, Philip L., 35, Savannah, Ga.