A board of inquiry determined the fire to be due to faulty electrical wiring and strongly criticised the maintenance of equipment, thoroughness of lifeboat drills, and the standard of supervision.

[1] The same shipyard built a sister ship, Marnix van St. Aldegonde, which was launched in December 1929 and completed in September 1930.

[2] 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 a motor ship with two Sulzer marine diesel engines driving her two propellers.

The artist Carel Adolph Lion Cachet and sculptor Lambertus Zijl decorated her interior with teak, marble, and many statues, mosaics, tapestries and chandeliers.

[6] After servicing India, Singapore and Penang, she finally returned to her home port of Amsterdam on 13 February 1946.

German aircraft sank her by torpedo off the Algerian coast, but all 3,000 troops and crew were saved by rescue ships.

The Australia run was an instant success, and 1951, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was put into dry-dock in Amsterdam for refitting.

On 23 January 1952 she left for Australia but was forced to return to Amsterdam after four small fires were discovered aboard.

[clarification needed] Three luxury suites were added, as well as a nightclub, cinema, gift shop, promenade lounge and second swimming pool.

[clarification needed] She offered round-the-world service, making stops in Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda and New York City.

On 8 March 1963 Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was sold to a Greek company, the Shipping Investment Corporation.

Ormos Shipping Company, also known as the Greek Line, operated Lakonia offering cruises from Southampton to the Canary Islands.

The crew had conducted a boat drill a week before, and the ship passed a safety inspection by the British Ministry of Transport 24 hours before sailing.

[7] On 22 December, at around 11:00 p.m., a steward noticed thick smoke seeping under the door of the ship's hairdressing salon.

"The fire alarm bell was so weak that it sounded like someone calling the waiter to ask for tea," one survivor later told reporters.

[8][A][9][10] At the time the fire was discovered, most of the passengers were in the ship's ballroom, called the Lakonia Room, dancing at the "Tropical Tramps' Ball."

As smoke began to fill the ballroom at about 11:30, the band stopped playing and cruise director George Herbert ushered the frightened passengers to the boat deck.

At 11:30 p.m., the ship's chief radio officer Antonios Kalogridis sent out the first distress call: "Fire spreading up.

Boilers began to explode, filling the rooms and hallways with thick, black smoke, and the suffocating passengers were forced on deck.

Several people who dove overboard struck the side of the ship on the way down, killing them before they hit the water.

The planes dropped flares, lifejackets, life rafts and survival kits to people in the water.

An RAF Avro Shackleton from Gibraltar criss-crossed the area, pinpointing boats and survivors and guiding rescuers to them.

Charlesville sent a lifeboat shortly after daybreak to rescue Captain Zarbis, who was spotted pacing the decks of his still-burning ship.

Most of the dead were buried in a Gibraltar cemetery after an autopsy which was carried out in a cavern workshop of 1st Fortress Squadron, Royal Engineers.

Largely due to this incident, cruise ship passengers are now instructed how to hold their jackets if jumping from a height.

Crewmen from the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Centaur boarded Lakonia on 24 December, once the flames had died down.

Herkules, along with the Portuguese tugboat Praia da Adraga and two other tugs, set off for the British base at Gibraltar with Lakonia in tow.

[12] The first such coverage appeared on 6 August 1956, when Life ran a series of photos of the Italian liner Andrea Doria sinking.

[13] Rita Harris recounted the events on 2 July 1964 on Woman's Hour on the BBC Light Programme.