[1] On 21 October 1988, 391 schoolchildren aged 13 to 16 and their teachers boarded Jupiter at the Greek port of Piraeus at the start of a week-long educational cruise around the Mediterranean.

A significant oil leakage occurred in 1999, possibly following disturbance of the seabed by an earthquake, and was removed in a 43-day operation to protect the local marine environment.

Given the gravity of the incident, it was considered remarkable that all but one schoolchild survived, but in an interview in The Independent, Mary Campion suggested that their behaviour may have been a contributory factor: "Schoolchildren are accustomed to obeying orders and those aboard did so without argument.

They are used to being in a crowd, being controlled by adults, without questioning at the time, and to moving frequently in a school day in large numbers without pushing, jostling or hurting each other.

"[2] Writing in the newsletter of the group Disaster Action in 2010, Campion said that although the case had set a number of legal precedents in UK law and had changed safety regulations for passengers on ships, many of the survivors were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath and did not receive the treatment they needed.