The kings of the earth had used the same term in Revelation 18:10 and the merchants in Revelation 18:16. The Greek word translated as “alas” sounds like the groan a person makes in the face of grief or despair or lamentation. Its repetition indicates repeated groaning. Like with the kings and the merchants, the sailors’ groans are driven by pity on account of their personal loss at the demise of “the great city.”
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.