Dimitrios shipwreck

The "Dimitrios" shipwreck

Dimitrios (Greek "Δημήτριος") is a famous shipwreck in Greece due to its picturesque location on an easily accessible sandy beach near Gythio. "Dimitrios" (previously named as "Klintholm") is registered to the Prefecture of Piraeaus registration no. 2707. It is a small 67 metre freight ship of 965 tons cargo capacity built in 1950. The ship belonged by 76.75% to Mollari Brothers (Greek: "Άφοι Μολλάρη") and by 23.25% to Matsinou Brothers (Greek " Άφοι Ματσινού")."Dimitrios" is stranded on the beach of "Valtaki" (Greek "Βαλτάκι") on the today's Evrotas (municipality) in prefecture of Laconia, Greece. The ship is stranded there since December 23, 1981.

There are a lot of rumors about the ships origins and how it got stranded on the beach. Most common rumors are that the ship was used to smuggle cigarettes between Turkey and Italy and that got seized by the port authorities of Gythio . It was then deliberately released from the port and left to be dragged by the sea to the beach of Valtaki about 5 kilometers away from the port of Gythio. It was then caught fire in order to hide the evidences of smuggling cigarettes. Another less common rumor talks about a ghost ship of unknown origins.

However, according to the book written by the Honorary Chief of the Hellenic Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Christos Ntounis (1935–2010) "Ta Navagia stis Ellinikes thalasses" (translated as "The shipwrecks of the Greek seas") we learn more about the true history of the ship.

The history of the shipwreck

Christos Ntounis on his book "Ta Navagia stis Ellinikes thalasses" (Volume B 1950-2000) informs us that the ship emergency docked to the port of Gythio on the 4 December 1980, due to its captain's need of a hospital because of a serious illness. However after the ship's docking, financial problems with the crew arose as long as various engine problems, while insurance measures imposed by various lenders. The crew was then fired and the ship's safeguarding was assigned to Georgios Daniil and Vasilis Parigoris. The ship was side docked to the port of Gythio, where it remained until June 1981 when it was declared unsafe due to wear on the docking ropes and an incline to right side, because of water entering its hull. It was asked by the port authorities for the ship to be moved to an anchoring site outside the port of Gythio for safety reasons, but the owners did not respond until the following November. It is stated on the book that "on approximately 12:30pm on the 9th of November 1981 the ship was swept away to the sea, about 2 miles away due to severe weather conditions and it was temporary anchored" But the temporary anchorage didn't last for long as the ship was swept again and finally got stranded to its current location on the beach of Valtaki, about 3 miles northeast of Gythio. The ship was then simply abandoned there and there were never made any attempts to recover it.

References:

http://www.pireas2day.gr

Αντιναυάρχου ΝΤΟΥΝΗ "ΤΑ ΝΑΥΑΓΙΑ ΣΤΙΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΕΣ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΕΣ"  1951–2000 ΤΟΜΟΣ B έκδοση 2001 ISBN 960-86590-6-X FINATEC  Α.Ε

(Vice Admiral Ntounis "The shipwrecks on the Greek Seas" 1951 - 2000 Volume B published 2001)