MS Athina B

History
Japan
Name	MS Kojima Maru
Builder	Ujina, Hiroshima
Yard number	479
Launched	1968
Completed	March 1968
Renamed	MS Hung Wei (1973) MS Nina Pa (1976) MS Athina B (1979 – reflagged)
Identification	IMO number:  6818148
Greece
Name	MS Athina B
Out of service	21 January 1980
Homeport	Piraeus
Identification	IMO number:  6818148
Fate	Scrapped February 1980
General characteristics
Tonnage	3,468 tons
Length	89.7 m (294 ft 3 in)
Beam	12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Speed	12 knots

The Athina B was a merchant ship. On 21 January 1980 she suffered engine failure in bad weather and beached at the English seaside resort of Brighton, to the east of the town's Palace Pier. The ship was a temporary tourist attraction, with the Volk's Electric Railway opening out of season to serve the large number of sightseers. ^[1] The anchor of the ship is on display on Brighton seafront. ^{[2] [3]} A restaurant in Brighton bears the name of the ship ^[4] and a painting of Athena B by Dennis Roxby Bott is in Brighton Museum. ^[5]

Career

Built as the Kojima Maru at Hiroshima in 1968, she initially sailed under the Japanese flag. She was renamed Hung Wei in 1973 and Nina Pa in 1976, before being sold and renamed the Athina B in 1979, sailing under the Greek flag. ^[6]

Final voyage

The Athina B left the Azores on 11 December 1979 laden with 3,000 tonnes of pumice. Her destination was the port at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. During the voyage, she had problems with her generator, gyro compass and radar, and put in at La Rochelle in France for repairs. On arrival at Shoreham on 20 January, force seven or eight winds meant she was unable to enter harbour. Her engines failed, and a Mayday call was issued. The Shoreham lifeboat Dorothy and Philip Constance took off half the crew and the captain's family, with the rest being rescued on the morning of 21 January. Four missions were needed to rescue all those on board. The ship drifted eastwards and eventually ran aground to the east of the Palace Pier. The ship broke her back and was declared a write-off. ^{[2] [7] [8]}

Awards

Coxwain Ken Voice was awarded a RNLI Silver Medal; Crew members Ken Everard, Michael Fox, Peter Huxtable, John Landale, Jack Silverson and Geoff Tugwell were awarded the RNLI's Thanks of the Institution on Vellum; Crew members Peter Everard and Derek Silverson received letters of thanks signed by the director of the RNLI for their part in the rescue of the crew of the Athina B. ^[8]

Salvage

The ship remained on the beach for a month, guarded by the police to prevent looting. After a mobile crane was used to remove the cargo, she was refloated and towed to a scrapyard at Rainham, Kent on 21 February 1980, where she was scrapped. ^{[2] [6] [9]}

See also

• MS Riverdance – ferry that ran aground at Blackpool on 31 January 2008.

References

1. Pastfinders
2. My Brighton and Hove Athina B article
3. My Brighton and Hove Anchor
4. The Argus
5. Virtual Art Museum Note incorrect spelling of name.
6. Miramar Ship Index – MS Athina B
7. My Brighton and Hove The rescue
8. Shoreham Lifeboat Archived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine website
9. My Brighton and Hove Guarding the wreck

External links

• Poem about the incident
• Photo of the beached ship
• Photo Gallery
• Video Lifeboatman's story of the event
• Recording of the Athina B captain's Mayday call