Expectant father Antonis Ioannou considers himself lucky to be alive.The 34-year-old deputy captain of a Greek-owned oil tanker saw his two shipmates killed by a large wave that unexpectedly swept through their vessel and left him seriously injured.He says he survived the catastrophe only after getting stuck in a hydraulic anchor lift, which prevented him from being thrown about by the raging water. Mr Ioannou, who is from Cyprus and speaks English as a second language, is adamant he will never return to sea again.In an interview with The Royal Gazette, the second-in-command of the Aegean Angel said the vessel had experienced bad weather for two or three days enroute from Estonia to Houston, Texas.The heavy conditions were “coming and leaving” and on December 30, Mr Ioannou, the 47-year-old captain and the chief engineer decided to go on deck to check for damages.“We went forward, the weather was good, and we didn’t realise the rest of it. We didn’t see the wave, we didn’t see nothing, we didn’t hear nothing. We only feel,” he said.He remembered being caught under the wave and being unable to breathe. He lost track of where he was on the vessel and called out to the officer on watch for help.“I saw, unfortunately, the captain, someone that was close to me, was dead. I couldn’t do nothing for him, he was already dead, no pulse.“Maybe I was very lucky because when I wake up I don’t know if I collapsed or not. My hand, my finger, all [my forearm] was black and it was stuck in the windlass, a winch that you [use to] drop the anchor and pick up the anchor.“It’s hydraulic and somehow my hand stuck on this and [it] didn’t let me go with the flow of the water. That is why I am alive because the other guys, they [were] transferred by the water and they hit the rails and constructions.”Mr Ioannou spent three days in the vessel’s hospital being treated for cracked ribs and a broken collarbone and lacerations to his face.He said the first time he saw his disfigured image was “tragical”, but admitted the worst part was watching his friends die. “The hardest part was I saw my captain dead. He was a good captain, a good guy. This was the second vessel we had worked in together. “He was one of the excellent captains excellent knowledge, excellent as a man, as a human being, just name it. The plan was in the summer time to come and visit me in Cyprus. He was from Athens, Greece.”The vessel’s 33-year-old chief mechanic went to school with Mr Ioannou at the Merchant Marine Academy of Macedonia. He leaves behind a wife and unborn child.Mr Ioannou said: “I’m awaiting a baby and he was waiting as well. My wife is six months, his wife was three months and we were discussing about the babies. “It’s very difficult for his wife now. I haven’t spoken to her. My wife sent flowers when they buried them [in Greece on Friday]. I don’t know his wife... [my concern is I would] call to say what? Maybe later on I will call, but for the moment I can’t.”After the ordeal, Mr Ioannou was airlifted to Bermuda via a US Coast Guard helicopter on January 2. The Aegean Angel was replaced with new crew members to continue its journey to the United States.Mr Ioannou’s father Kyriakos was waiting on the ground for him here. He said seeing his son was “difficult”.“My heart was broken. [But] my son is lucky, he has God.”The deputy captain was transported to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he underwent two hours’ surgery. Since leaving the hospital he and his father have been staying at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort in Hamilton Parish. Mr Ioannou said his family now understands he is safe but were initially concerned he had brain damage.“I talked to them and explained to them [that I’m OK] because my mom has, for 35 years, been a nurse. She was not believing it because she saw a lot of accidents.”Mr Ioannou said he is looking forward to going back to Greece today to meet with executives from Athens-based Arcadia Shipmanagement Co Ltd. Then he is on to Cyprus, south of Turkey and west of Syria, to see family, including his wife Demetra, who is pregnant with their first son. He will be named after his father.Mr Ioannou didn’t hesitate in his reply when asked if he would return to the seas. “No way, I won’t.”Instead he expects to start work at a German shipping company he was employed at in 2006. He said: “I feel very lucky to be alive and happy I will get to see my baby [which is due in April]. I will tell him of course [about the tragedy] because if you are searching the Google under my name you will find [what happened].”