Page 28 - Insurance Times March 2024

quickly. He said that he was concerned about the possibility Georgoulis gave no strict accounting for the money and was
of a second explosion and considered the safety of the crew unable to specify how much was retained by him.
to be of paramount importance. However, he made no
attempt of any kind to determine the source of the explosion His findings only pointed to issues of certificate and minor
or its cause. No one was sent to look into the pump room maritime laws broken and recommended light penalties. But
nor was anyone sent forward to the bow to examine the President Tolbert was bent on having a trial with grand
source of the smoke. Georgoulis said he thought this might media presence to “clear his name.”
be too dangerous.
On 10th and 11th March, 1980, the Liberian maritime
The flooding of the engine room, while serious, was not his authorities met and conferred with Detective Chief
primary concern; he would have abandoned even had it Superintendent Griggs and Detective Inspector Golding of
been possible to control the flooding because of his fear of Scotland Yard who were then in Monrovia. They had spent
a second explosion. Nor did Chief Engineer Kalomiropoulos considerable time and effort in South Africa assembling facts
make any attempt to discover the source of the water about the voyage of the SALEM and had come to Monrovia
entering the engine room. He gave no explanation except in the hope of interviewing Captain Georgoulis and Chief
that he found it difficult to see. But he had a flashlight with Engineer Kalomiropoulos. They expressed the interest of the
him and still made no effort to look for the trouble. No one British Authorities in prosecuting those who might be
else in the engine room bothered to look either. The fear of responsible for what they consider to be an international
a second explosion was uppermost in the minds of the crew. fraud against underwriters involving the discharge of the
cargo at Durban and the subsequent deliberate sinking of
Both Georgoulis and Kalomiropoulos strongly denied that the SALEM.
SALEM ever stopped at Durban, South Africa. They also
strongly denied any suggestion that the sinking of the SALEM The evidence which those two policemen had gathered
was anything but accidental. The BRITISH TRIDENT took the regarding the discharge of the oil in Durban is indeed
two lifeboats aboard and proceeded to Dakar where the formidable. According to this evidence the vessel had
crew was put ashore. stopped at Durban under the name of LEMA between 27
December and 4 January. Captain Georgoulis spent two
When the British tanker ‘Trident’ rescued the shipwrecked nights ashore at Durban staying at the Royal Hotel. There
Salem crew, it was observed that not only had the crew were copies of the hotel registration bearing the Captain's
taken all their belongings in suitcases but they had gone so signature. He was accompanied by a woman who was the
far as to rescue a number of other items including duty-free wife of the Electrician Papaleon. Arrangements were made
goods and sandwiches, although the tanker was supposed for her return from Durban to Greece and copies of the
to have sunk so quickly, after several explosions, that there airline bookings were in the possession of Mr. Griggs.
was not enough time to save the ship's log. Far more striking
was that, despite the ostensible cargo of nearly 200,000 While in Durban certain foodstuffs and other supplies were
tons of crude oil and having suffered sufficient explosion delivered to the LEMA, according to the request of
damage to cause her to sink, there was barely a trace of Georgoulis and his name and signature appeared on the
the vessel or the cargo left on the surface. delivery receipt, which was also in the possession of Mr.
Griggs. Signed statements had been obtained from
Georgoulis called the shipping agent Capt. N. Mytakis, witnesses who saw Georgoulis while he was ashore.
Mitnizafir Navigation Company of Piraeus, and requested Telephone calls to Greece and Switzerland had been traced
money and a few days later a representative by the name from Durban, which proved that Georgoulis spoke with Mr.
of Hatzichristos from the office of Mytakis arrived with Mytakis during that time. One of the Tunisian crew members
$47,000. The Captain disbursed this to the various crew became ill from an apparent heart condition and was
members to enable them to buy clothes and pay for other treated ashore in Durban.
necessities. He said that most of the crew had been unable
to save any clothes and at most they had just a few personal These records also were in the hands of Mr. Griggs. Finally,
possessions with them when they entered the lifeboats. Mr.Griggs also showed a statement by one of the Tunisian

26 March 2024 The Insurance Times