Alkimos (ship)

The "Alkimos" was a merchant shipping vessel which was wrecked on the coast north of Perth, Western Australia, in 1963. The wreck still exists and is the subject of many mysterious rumours and stories. It is listed as a diving venue, but is also the subject of cautionary advice by diving experts. Many who have worked or otherwise ventured on board the wreck in the past now report that they would be reluctant to visit it again. It is thus increasingly becoming of interest to investigators of paranormal phenomena as much as scientific study or historical scholarship.

History

The ship was built as part of the United States' Liberty ship program during World War II. She was launched in Baltimore in 1943; originally intended to be named the "George M Shriver", she was launched as the "Viggo Hansteen". She served as a Liberty ship for about 18 months, until being sold after the war to a Greek shipping company and renamed the "Alkimos".

As the "Alkimos", the ship plied the world's oceans for some two decades. In March 1963, the vessel was on a voyage from Jakarta to Bunbury when it struck a reef off the Western Australian coast. It was salvaged and towed to Fremantle, the port city for Perth, where it underwent repairs for two months. After settlement of a dispute concerning payment for the repairs, the "Alkimos" left Fremantle under tow by an ocean-going tug from Hong Kong.

Only a few hours out of port, the tow line gave way and the "Alkimos" was driven onto the shore. Although the ship remained intact, it could not be floated off at that time, and so it was filled with water to secure it in place and left in the charge of an on-board caretaker. Another tug returned in January 1964 and the ship was refloated, but the planned journey to Manila had hardly begun when the tug was seized at sea by authorities and the "Alkimos" was left anchored. In May 1964, the vessel broke anchor and was driven onto the Eglinton Rocks near present-day Yanchep. On this occasion it was more severely damaged, and all thought of salvaging it intact was abandoned. It was sold by the owners for the purposes of scrapping. However, even that outcome was thwarted when, in 1969, salvage workers were driven off the wreck by a fire which broke out, and since that time the partly dismantled remains of the ship have been left, standing in several metres of water, very visible to visitors to the location.

As of April 2007 the structure was almost fully disintegrated above the water line to the point where only the engine block is visible from the beach.

Paranormal issues

A variety of events and allegations throughout the vessel's history have given rise to it being regarded as being 'jinxed', cursed or haunted, both during its working life and since it was wrecked. This aspect is the main focus of present-day interest in the ship.

At the time of construction it was rumoured that two workmen had died within the hull and that their bodies had been left there, either because of the difficulty of retrieving them or because of the urgency of completing the construction for use during wartime. During the ships' service as a Liberty ship, it is believed that a murder-suicide took place on board. A variety of ghosts were then reported on board, on several occasions while the ship sailed as the "Alkimos".

The next suggestions of unusual happenings in connection with the ship took place during the time when the caretaker was living aboard during the later part of 1963.

Regular references are made in radio and television shows regarding the curse. The Perth ABC local radio morning program 17 November 2006 had a number of callers recounting the issues.

Legacy

There is now a locality named Alkimos near the site of the wreck and named after it.

References

Print

*Jack Wong Sue and Barry Sue "Ghost of the Alkimos" (Revised edition: Perth, 2005)
*"Sunday Times Magazine" (Perth), 19 March 2006, p. 14

Online

* [http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2003/s1000949.htm ABC Television program "Stateline" (Transcript)]
* [http://simplyaustralia.net/issue4/haunted.html#6 Supernatural Traditions of Western Australia]
* [http://www.jackwongsue.com/ghost_of_the_alkimos.htm Jack & Barry Sue's Book concerning the "Alkimos]
* [http://www.mindive.com/alkimos.htm Diving company notice about the "Alkimos"]
* [http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/collections/maritime/march/shipwrecks/Wanneroo_Shipwrecks/Wanneroo.html Shipwrecks of the Wanneroo Coast]

External Links

[http://maps.google.com.au/?ie=UTF8&ll=-31.610361,115.653897&spn=0.003362,0.006974&t=h&z=18 GoogleMaps location and image of the Alkimos Wreck]