MS Mediterranean Sky

Last updated

City of York IMO 5074226 P London 1967.JPG
City of York in London, 1967
History
Name
  • City of York (1953-1971)
  • Mediterranean Sky (1971-2003)
Namesake York, England (original)
Port of registry
  • London (1953-1982)
  • Greece (1982-2003)
Builder Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness
Yard number122
Launched30 March 1953
Maiden voyage17 November 1953 [1]
Identification
FateCapsized in 2003
NotesLocation 38.024673,23.489579
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length164.8m - 541ft
Beam21.7m – 71.2ft
Decks4
PropulsionTwin-screw with 2 x six-cylinder, two-stroke, opposed-piston Hawthorn-Leslie-Doxford 67LB6 of 12,850 bhp (total) at 115 rpm.
Speed16.5 knots
Capacity
  • 107 passengers (originally)
  • 850 passengers (post 1972)

The MS Mediterranean Sky was a combination-passenger liner built in 1953 for Ellerman Lines' service between London and South Africa. [2] Originally named MS City of York, she was sold in 1971 to Karageorgis Lines, converted to a cruiseferry and renamed. [3]

Contents

Background

In the years following World War II, the Ellerman Lines had built or acquired 52 ships to replace the ones lost in the war. Four of the ships ordered in 1949, would be a set of sister ships. [4] By 1950, nine new vessels were either under construction, or waiting to be ordered - the last of which was not expected to be delivered until 1953. [5] In March 1952, the City of Port Elizabeth was launched, and it was revealed she would be the first of four sister ships built for South African service. [6] [7] The City of Port Elizabeth, which was the company's first passenger liner to be launched since the war, was followed by City of Exeter. [8]

History

Ellerman Lines career (1953-1971)

The City of York was announced by name in December 1952. [9] The City of York was built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering of Barrow-in-Furness in the United Kingdom. She was launched on 30 March, 1953, without any ceremony. [10] Her maiden voyage was scheduled for 20 October, 1953, [11] but in June the maiden voyage was rescheduled for 17 November. [1] She underwent her sea trials on a voyage from River Tyne on Friday, 23 October, 1953. [12]

Along with her three sister ships, the City of Port Elizabeth, City of Exeter and City of Durban, she operated on the route between London, Las Palmas, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Lourenço Marques and Beira, making passage between London and Cape Town in 15 days. [3]

A fire broke out in an electrician's cabin while the ship was docked in South-West India Dock, London, on Sunday, 23 May, 1954. The fire was contained to the cabin and quickly extinguished. [13]

On 8 February, 1955, Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Queen Victoria, sailed upon the City of York for a ten week voyage to South Africa and back. At the age of 82, she used the voyage to work on her autobiography. [14] During the voyage, the Princess was received on board at every port of call by local dignitaries, and went ashore to return calls and attend parties. [15]

On a voyage to Plymouth in November 1956, Hedley Davidson, the ship's Third engineer, disappeared overboard after departing the engine-room. The ship and it's crew searched for him for five-hours but he couldn't be located. [16]

Forresbank rescue

On Sunday, 9 November, 1958, the City of York discovered the Glasgow cargo ship Forresbank ablaze after an engine fire engulfed the ship, 18 miles off of the Pondoland Coast. [17] The ship was discovered around 9 AM, and had been burning since around 2 AM. [18] Captain T. Speakman maneuvered the ship to pick up the first lifeboat, which contained Indian sailors. A second lifeboat - which had drifted south - sent off flares to attract the City of York to its location. [19] A third lifeboat was located to the stern of the Forresbank, while three men were seen on the stern. [19]

Several officers rescued from the burning ship insisted on returning to pick up the three stranded shipmates via a motorboat. [19] Captain Simmonds of the Forresbank returned to the ship with 15 of his crew, when he'd thought the fire had died down enough. The party split up, with half going forward, and the other going aft. [19] While they were on board, an explosion emanated from the engine room, sending flames through the corridors. Simmonds ordered the men back to the lifeboat, but they were separated and three men were unable to escape due to the flames. [20] The rescue party was unable to reach the trio on the stern, and whom were prevented from jumping to the lifeboat below due to circling sharks. [19] The ship drifted until it ran aground south of Durban. [21] An inquest was opened into the cause of its wreck. The salvage rights were awarded to a company based out of Johannesburg by Lloyds for £2,000. [22] [23] In 1960, a number of exacerbating components were identified by the Court of Inquiry but not the cause of the fire. [24]

During the night of Wednesday, 7 October, 1959, 200 tons of the ships cargo, consisting mainly of motor vehicles, lubricating oil, linseed oil, detergent, and reels of cable, which were destined for Durban, caught fire. The flames were extinguished while at East London, Cape Province. The damaged cargo was unloaded, and the ship continued on to Durban the following day. [25]

For a brief period in 1962, City of York and her three sister ships were taken to the dry docks department of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson for a "special survey." [26]

In February 1963, Israil Ali Hossein, aged 53, who was a general servant of the crew, hanged himself in a cabin while the ship was dry docked in Wallsend. [27] [a]

In May 1963, a large party for about 250 guests was held on the ship for the North of England shippers and importers. [28]

The ship's captain, William Dick, was promoted in July 1966 to the position of commodore of the Ellerman Line's entire fleet. [29]

In November 1966, it was announced that starting the following summer, City of York and her three sister ships would be receiving a £100,000 refurbishment, would be operating as cruise ships, cruising between Middlesbrough, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and London. [30] The trips were to last six or seven days, and would cost between £40 to £70. While the ship would cruise to different destinations, she would be collecting cargo to be taken to South Africa. There would be five cargo collecting cruises scheduled between late April, and the end of September, before the ships next trip to South Africa. [31] Her first cargo collecting cruise departed on 24 April, 1967.

In 1968, the capacity of cruise passengers was reduced from 100, to 90. [32] In 1969, special "reduced fare" sailings started being advertised for the trips to South Africa. [33]

In April 1971, the ship the City of Port Elizabeth was rumored to be up for sale, after the 184-person crew was fired upon arriving to the Tyne. [34] The company explained, they were unprepared to undertake the expensive refits the ships needed. [35] The Ellerman Lines later in May, confirmed a buyer was being sought, which raised concerns about the fate of her sister ships. The company stated it was unsure whether the rest of the sister ships would be put up for sale as well. [36] In June, it was decided Ellerman Lines would be withdrawing a total of four of their ships from the South African service and putting them up for sale, including the City of York. [37] [38]

Wreck of Mediterranean Sky, 2011 Sunken ship - panoramio.jpg
Wreck of Mediterranean Sky, 2011

Later career and contract work (1971-1994)

The City of York, after completing her final trip back from South Africa, was docked in Amsterdam awaiting a buyer. [39] In September 1971, she was sold, along with her three sister ships, to Karageorgis Lines for £1,250,000. [40] Their fates were unconfirmed until December 1972, when it was announced the four ships would be converted into "luxury passenger car ferries operating between Greece and Italy." [39] Despite plans, only she and City of Exeter were converted into ferries and renamed Mediterranean Sky and Mediterranean Sea respectively. [3] [41] City of Durban was intended to be renamed Mediterranean Dolphin, and her conversion into a ferry began in 1975, but midway through the plans were halted and she was sold for scrap around 1980. City of Port Elizabeth was to become Mediterranean Sun.

In 1987, to accommodate the increase in tourism to Australia for the sailing competition America's Cup, 15 passenger-liners were chartered to be used as "floating hotel rooms". Holiday Inn chartered the Mediterranean Sky for the event and dubbed it the "America's Cup Holiday Inn". [42]

Starting in December 1987, the ship advertised cruises to Antarctica, on ten-day cruises out of Tierra del Fuego. [43] She would sail through Beagle Channel, Drake Passage and South Shetland Islands and call at several research stations on the Antarctic peninsula. The cruises were offered in December, January, and February, summer in the southern hemisphere. The planned cruises were canceled possibly due to a lack of bookings. [44]

In 1991, the ship was hired for three sailings by a "British-based Zionist organization" [45] at a cost of $500,000 to carry Jews from the former Soviet Union to Israel. [46] On 28 December, the ship departed Odesa, Ukraine and arrived in Haifa carrying 477 Soviet Jews, 55 tourists, 22 Israeli government officials, and 17 Christians. [47] After its first trip, the ship was equipped with signs in Russian explaining proper behavior at sea. [48] The ship departed Israel with 15 former-immigrants, and several dozen tourists. It returned from Odesa the second time on Monday, 6 January, 1992, with 387 immigrants. [49] The ship returned to Israel for the third and final trip, Thursday, 16 January, with 532-immigrants. [50] [51]

At a cost of $13 million, [52] the United States contracted to use the ship to ferry thousands of Americans, mostly troops, out of Somalia during their civil war in 1994. [53] Beginning in January, 219-soldiers boarded the ship to be taken to Mombasa, Kenya, where they would then take commercial flights home. It became the largest seaborne evacuation of US troops since the Vietnam War. [54] With plans to finish withdrawing by 31 March, the Clinton Administration became divided on whether to leave "a small diplomatic contingent behind." [55] A farewell ceremony was held for troops in an airport hanger prior to them boarding the ship. [56] [57]

In June 1994, the United States government used the ship as an interview space for Haitian refugees in the Turks and Caicos Islands. [58] [59] Later that year, the ship was moved to Guantánamo Bay to be used as makeshift housing for troops working in refugee camps. [60]

Failed scrapping, and capsizing (1995 - present)

The Mediterranean Sky sailed for the last time from Patras to Brindisi in August 1996. [61] A sailor of the Mediterranean Sky later reported to the newspapers that the ship had been stranded in Brindisi for two days, after running out of fuel, showcasing the poor financial state of Karageorgis Lines. As soon as she returned, she was decommissioned in the port of Patras. The ship remained inactive at the pier of Agios Nikolaos, Crete until February 1999.

The ship's charterer, Phoenix Cruises, and the shipowner, Karageorgis, showed no interest in the fate of the ship and the crew. A report by Panos Theodorakopoulos in December 1996 stated that approximately 45 sailors remained on the ship and refused to disembark unless they received their accrued wages, which amounted to 180 million drachmas (adjusted for inflation, roughly $550,000 USD in 2025).

“The only asset we own at this moment is this steamer,” read the banner hung on the bow of the ship. [62] For at least five months they remained on the ship without water and electricity and declared their determination to spend Christmas in the dark. "The living conditions are tragic. With a candle and flashlights we reach the cabins, while there is no water," said one of the sailors.

The sailors were fed with a portion of food from the Naval Home. Another captain had declared “We are not squatters, we are asking for what belongs to us”. And he continued by explaining why they were not abandoning the ship: “If the ship goes ten miles out it changes flag since it belongs to a Panamanian company and then we lose our money”. The shipowner proposed to give them about 6 million drachmas as a compromise solution to pay off the debt, but the workers refused. The case was taken to court.

The ship was transported to Eleusis Bay at the expense of the Port Fund of Patras, where it remained abandoned and bound by the company's debts. She started listing after being laid up in Eleusis, Greece. The abandoned ship was then towed to shallow water where she was beached on 26 November 2002.

In 2009 it was decided to remove the ship from the site, along with 17 other wrecks in the Gulf of Eleusis, this was not done. [63]

She capsized and sank by January 2003 with the half-submerged wreck still visible in 2025. [64]

In 2018, the Berlin-based Graffiti crew 1UP roller-painted their name across the exposed side of the ship, which can be seen on satellites. [65]

A study was performed in June 2016, analyzing the risk assessment of potential hazardous material leaks from shipwrecks in Greece. Led by professors at the University of Athens Nikolaos P. Ventikos, Konstantinos Louzis, Alexandros Koimtzoglou, and Pantelis Delikanidis. They determined Mediterranean Sky held a "Reasonably Probable" likelihood of her leaking, causing "significant" to "sever" environmental damage. [66] In November 2020, what appeared to be oil or fuel began leaking from the ship. [67]

The capsized wreck caught fire in July 2022. [68]

References

  1. 1 2 "Shipping: London to South Africa". The Guardian. London, England. 29 June 1953. p. 8.
  2. ↑ May, John (5 June 1954). "New Ships For The Run To South Africa: A Quarter of Passenger-Cargo Liners which are Setting Entirely New Standers of Sea Travel". The Sphere. Vol. 217, no. 2834. London. pp. 419–422.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Ellerman Quartet". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Vickers Limited: Group's Manifold Activities, Sir Ronald Week's Review". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 21 May 1954.
  5. ↑ "Bleak Outlook For Owners: Taxation, Tonnage, Replacement - Orders Not Placed". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. 20 November 1950.
  6. ↑ "LAUNCHING THE "CITY OF PORT ELIZABETH": A NEW ADDITION TO THE ELLERMAN FLEET". The Sphere. Vol. 208, no. 2719. London. 22 March 1952. p. 471.
  7. ↑ "Ellerman Fleet Lost in War II Being Replaced: Liner Off Ways, 2 On; 9 Freighters Ordered". New York Herald Tribune. 1 May 1952. p. 30.
  8. ↑ ""City of Durban," The New Ellerman Vessel For The South African Run". The Sphere. Vol. 213, no. 2783. London. 13 June 1953.
  9. ↑ "Shipping Notices: London to South Africa - Four New Ellerman Liners". Western Morning News. Plymouth, Devon, England. 4 December 1952.
  10. ↑ "No Ceremony At Launch". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne, England. 30 March 1953.
  11. ↑ "Shipping - Ellerman Line". The Guardian. London, England. 16 February 1953. p. 8.
  12. ↑ "Leaving Today". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 23 October 1953. p. 17.
  13. ↑ "Fire In Liner". Daily Mirror. London, London, England. 24 May 1954.
  14. ↑ "Princess's Voyage at 82". Evening Post. Bristol, Avon, England. 8 February 1955. p. 4.
  15. ↑ "'Happy Day'-By Princess Marie Louise". Herald Express. Torquay, Devon, England. 22 April 1955. p. 3.
  16. ↑ "Fiancé Is Lost Overboard". Birmingham Gazette. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 2 November 1956. p. 3.
  17. ↑ "Ordeal on Blazing Freighter: Radio Man Burned Sending Messages". The Birmingham Post. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. 11 November 1958.
  18. ↑ "Rescued Twice Within 18 Months". The Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 19 December 1958. p. 6.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "Circling Sharks Kept Men Trapped On Blazing Ship". Leicester Mercury. Leicester, England. 11 November 1958. p. 15.
  20. ↑ "Rescue From Blazing Freighter In Waters Infested By Sharks". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. 11 November 1958. p. 3.
  21. ↑ "Inquiry Opens Into Wrecked Freighter". Liverpool Daily Post. 12 November 1958. p. 7.
  22. ↑ "£2,000 Plan to Salvage British Ship". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 22 November 1958. p. 3.
  23. ↑ O'Flynn, Patrick (12 August 1991). "Passenger Recalls Freighter Sinking". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, Humberside, England. p. 13.
  24. ↑ "Court finds "Slovenly Engine-Room": But not cause of ship's loss". The Guardian. London. 26 January 1960. p. 5.
  25. ↑ "Fire Damages Ship's Cargo". Evening Post. Bristol, Avon, England. 8 October 1959. p. 3.
  26. ↑ "City of York Completed Special Survey". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. Grimsby, Humberside, England. 3 April 1962. p. 10.
  27. ↑ "Seaman Hanged Himself At Wallsend". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 12 February 1963. p. 3.
  28. ↑ "Party For 250 Held On Ship". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, Humberside, England. 28 May 1963.
  29. ↑ "Fleet's Captain is New Commodore". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, West Midlands, England. 30 July 1966. p. 7.
  30. ↑ "Lines Offer £40 Cruises". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, West Midlands, England. 7 November 1966. p. 11.
  31. ↑ Jones, K. Westcott (17 November 1966). "Crossing The Channel By One of the Queens". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham, West Midlands, England. p. 6.
  32. ↑ "Shipping: 7-Day Holiday Voyage to Rotterdam & Hamburg". The Guardian. London, Greater London, England. 26 August 1968. p. 2.
  33. ↑ "Ellerman Lines advertisement". The Daily Telegraph. London, Greater London, England. 17 October 1969. p. 34.
  34. ↑ "Ship and its Crew Made Redundant". The Evening Chronicle. 30 April 1971. p. 19.
  35. ↑ "End of the Line for Four Ellerman Ships". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool, Merseyside, England. 7 April 1971. p. 3.
  36. ↑ "A City for Sale". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 25 May 1971. p. 1.
  37. ↑ "Another Ship For Sale Arrives In The Tyne". The Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 2 June 1971. p. 4.
  38. ↑ "Massive costs rise forces group to withdraw liners". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. 10 April 1971. p. 24.
  39. 1 2 "Luxury for Tyne's Daughters". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. 13 December 1972.
  40. ↑ "Ships Sold". Hull Daily Mail. Hull, Humberside, England. 10 September 1971.
  41. ↑ "City of York - Mediterranean Sky Cabin Plan". ssmaritime.com. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  42. ↑ Alexander, Dick (18 January 1987). "America's Cup Pours Tourist Gold On West Australia". Minneapolis Star and Tribune. Minneapolis. p. 10E-11E.
  43. ↑ Piton, Margaret (7 November 1987). "BUDGET TRAVEL: Timing helps beat prices in skiing eastern slopes". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont. p. F13.
  44. ↑ Hart, Paul Dudley (Summer 1988). "The Growth of Antarctic Tourism" (PDF). Oceanus. Vol. 31, no. 2. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. p. 96.
  45. ↑ "477 Soviet Jews Sail Home". Arizona Republic. Phoenix. 28 December 1991. p. 12.
  46. ↑ "World News: Middle East". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. 28 December 1991. p. 4.
  47. ↑ Kotzer, Yigal (29 December 1991). "Immigration goes back to style of '50s: 447 arrive in Haifa by ship from Odessa". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem, Israel. p. 1.
  48. ↑ Kotzer, Yigal (7 January 1992). "Fuel strike strands olim at Baku airport". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem, Israel. p. 14.
  49. ↑ "Second Ship Brings Olim To Haifa". The American Israelite. Cincinnati, Ohio. 9 January 1992. p. 6.
  50. ↑ Odenheimer, Alisa (17 January 1992). "Amid tears and songs, 532 olim dock at Haifa after 3-day voyage". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem, Israel. p. 3A.
  51. ↑ Odenheimer, Alisa (24 January 1992). "Operation Soul-Savers". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem, Israel. p. 14.
  52. ↑ Fineman, Mark (7 March 1994). "Chaos spreads as U.S. leaves Somalia". The Los Angeles Times & The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ont. p. B3.
  53. ↑ "Somali gunmen kill two journalists". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem, Israel. 21 March 1994.
  54. ↑ "Shipshape for Shipping Out". Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis. 31 January 1994. p. 6.
  55. ↑ Gellman, Barton (6 February 1994). "Administration Divided Over Somalia Staff: Safety of Dialomats Would Be in Doubt". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. A1.
  56. ↑ "Gunfire erupts in Mogadishu as last U.S. combat unit boards ship for home". The Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. 9 March 1994. p. 5A.
  57. ↑ Miles, Donna; Paris, Bernadette (May 1994). "Farewell to Somalia". Soldiers.
  58. ↑ "US Begins Screening Haitians". The Korea Times. Seoul. 18 June 1994. p. 4.
  59. ↑ "29 of 35 Haitians are refused asylum, will be repatriated". Boston Globe. Boston, Mass. 18 June 1994. p. 53.
  60. ↑ Schmitt, Eric (4 September 1994). "U.S. Drafts Refugee Emergency Storm Plan". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
  61. ↑ Rigopoulos, Panagiotis (5 September 2021). "Patras: The legendary "Mediterranean Sky"…sets sail again!". Pelop (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2 March 2025.
  62. ↑ ""Now it's profitable. With our own ferries." Where the half-sunken "royal steamer" of Karageorgis Lines, which once dominated the Patras - Italy line, is located (drone)". Mixanitouxronou.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  63. ↑ "From Newcastle half-submerged in the Saronic Gulf (Video)" (in Greek). 4 May 2023.
  64. ↑ "Photo search - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker". shipspotting.com. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  65. ↑ Spray Daily (9 July 2019). "1UP - Mediterranean Sky - The Ship". Spraydaily.com. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  66. ↑ Ventikos, Nikolaos P.; Louzis, Konstantinos; Koimtzoglou, Alexandros; Delikanidis, Pantelis (14 June 2016). Enhanced Decision Making through Probabilistic Shipwreck Risk Assessment: Focusing on the Situation in Greece. Frontiers in Marine Science (Report). Frontiers Media.
  67. ↑ ""MEDITERRANEAN SKY" – The "sunken palace bleeds" and sends out an SOS". AgioiTheodoroi (in Greek). Agioi Theodoroi. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020.
  68. ↑ "Ελευσίνα -Λουτροπυργος...μετά τα ναυπηγεία". Facebook group - Pyrkagia News. 30 July 2022.

Notes

  1. ↑ Might have been upon a different City of York.

Bibliography

Books

  • Collard, Ian (2014). Ellerman Lines: Remembering a Great British Shipping Company. New York: History Press. ISBN   978-0-752-48963-6.
  • Clarkson, John; Fenton, Roy (1993). Ships In Focus: Ellerman Lines. United Kingdom.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Payne, Kenneth; Brown, Ulick (1992). Ellermans In South Africa 1892-1992. Cape Town: Board of Ellerman and Bucknall (Pty.) Ltd.

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