The shocking adventure of the ship "Kefallonia" that fell into a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean in 1948.

The shocking adventure of the ship "Kefallonia" that fell into a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean in 1948 is an unknown naval story starring Captain Charalambos Markopoulos, which moved and inspired the well-known icon painter, Greek Antonius Komnenos, to make an icon of the ship with Saint Nicholas.

This iconography made the history of the ship known to a small circle of people and was subsequently disseminated through the captain's letter-document to the ship's owner, Ioannis Gerolimatos.

The cargo ship "Kefallonia" was traveling in the Pacific Ocean in 1948. It set off from Singapore for the city of Kobe, Japan, when it fell into the vortex of a tropical storm.

The three-page letter survives intact to this day and is exhibited as an important piece of evidence at the Center for Greek Tradition above the "Beautiful Greece" cafe in Monastiraki.

The  captain describes to the shipowner that “life and death struggled for 19 continuous hours” with huge “insurmountable waves.” The waves exceeded 14 meters and hit the ship with fury.

Hurricanes carry particles, water vapor, dust, soil, and even mud, creating a stifling atmosphere. Visibility is zero, and breathing is impossible.

This situation was faced by the captain who did not lose his courage and stayed on the bridge of the ship until the end. Thus he managed to guide the "Kefallonia" to a safe harbor.

The hurricane that "swallows" ships, according to expert reports on major maritime accidents, ships that have encountered tropical storms in the Pacific are not only capsized but their bows are also constantly pulled upwards, resulting in them being above the surface of the sea.

The huge waves "swallow" the ship, while the sea waters rush in from the windlasses and every opening on the deck.

All the electrical equipment on the ships short-circuits and can cause a fire. The intensity of the winds blows away chimneys, windlasses, masts, boats, ropes, life jackets and other materials on the decks.

Even if a ship manages to overcome a severe hurricane, the sailors, in addition to physical injuries, suffer from severe mental health problems due to post-traumatic shock, are overstressed, suffer from nightmares and need psychiatric help...

The captain's letter

"For the first time in my 28-year maritime life, I witnessed the wildness of nature that was unimaginable. My eyes will never forget that cruel sight."

"At all times I saw the ship drifting and the sea taking it into its depths, the ship along with the cargo and the souls of the people," the surviving captain recounts, trying to capture his unprecedented experience in his letter.

The struggling captain, in the letter he wrote immediately after his rescue, assumes that the ship's owner will have already heard the news of the tropical storm and states that he found himself with the ship very close to the center of the hurricane.

This information magnifies the feat of the "Kefallonia" as even today it is considered impossible for a ship to emerge unscathed from such an extreme situation. Tropical cyclones move completely irregularly, creating strange curves, making it impossible to control the ship.

"You may have heard something about a hurricane and I hope you ONLY listen to it. The survival rate of a ship - especially when it is carrying cargo - during a hurricane cycle, and especially when it has the bad luck to fall into its center is very small."

The rescue from the hurricane became an icon.

Charalambos Markopoulos was not only saved along with the crew, but also delivered the cargo to its destination. Shocked by the naval adventure, where death "touched" his hand, he attributes the rescue of the ship to a religious miracle.

"However, our faith in the assistance of the Saints certainly saved us from certain destruction," the captain confesses in his letter.

The shocking adventure of the ship "Kefallonia" that defeated the giant waves of the tropical hurricane, and was captured in the captain's letter to the ship's owner, Ioannis Gerolimatos, inspired the leading Greek icon painter Antonius Komnenos.