It sank on Wednesday 23 February 1983 taking 28 lives with it, while 14 people were rescued
A rare shipwreck that sunk 40 years ago in Cabo Doro, taking with it its secrets and 28 human lives, has been brought to light by researcher Kostas Thoktaridis and his team.
This is the “Golden Dawn”, a ship that had been purchased in 1976 by the company “Grammi Epirou EPE” of the August War and was traveling from Rafina in the Cyclades, as a passenger-car ferry.
Its discovery awakened memories but also mixed emotions among the relatives of the victims: “”The fact of finding the sunken Golden Dawn is important, but our people who were lost with it will never come back…” said Mrs. K. Tsoumezi, wife of the captain who disappeared on that fateful day.
The history
It was Wednesday, February 23, 1983 at 16:06 when the “Golden Dawn” sailed from the port of Rafina bound for Andros and other islands of the Cyclades, carrying 5 trucks and 9 fuel tankers with a total weight of 298 tons. There were 21 people on board as crew, 16 truck drivers and 5 passengers, among them M. Lavda and her two children. That afternoon the weather was cold, raining and blowing strong winds.
At 18:20 the ship, while sailing to Cabo Doro, took a dangerous right bank of 160 degrees. Capt. Antonis Gardelis, realizing the criticality of the situation, changed course to the port of Karystos and immediately after sent a distress signal on the radio telephone, which was received by the coastal station of Lavrio.
The immersion
About 15 minutes later an explosion rocked the “Golden Dawn” most likely due to a fuel leak from the tankers. A fire broke out on the ship. A second, even stronger explosion followed and the ship capsized. Then, part of the superstructure detached and the trucks in the garage ended up at the bottom.
The passenger/ferry “Chrysi Ammos III” from Rafina, the passenger/ferry “Kastriani Keas” from Karysto, the Russian oceanographic ship Yakov Gakkel (Yakov Gakkel) which was in the area rushed to help the shipwrecked in the area for hydrographic surveys, the Romanian “Boldaine”, the frigate “Lemnos”, the destroyer “Sphendoni” of the Navy and vessels sailing by.
An Air Force C130 aircraft was dropping flares to facilitate the search. Unfortunately, out of the total of 42 on board only 14 were rescued, 12 people from the Russian oceanographic ship, one person from the Romanian truck and 1 from the “Golden Sands III”. Among the 14 survivors were only three crew members…
Meanwhile, the ship remained on the surface upside down and drifted by the currents for at least 3 hours until it was lost forever at the bottom of the Aegean…
The detection
Forty years after its tragic loss, the team of researcher Kostas Thoktaridis locates the sunken GOLDEN DAWN at a depth of -110 meters. As he notes, “the first images from the wreck are awe-inspiring. It is impressive that only part of the superstructure was detached from the fire and explosions, while the rest of the ship remains intact at the bottom.”
It is worth noting that in the past some of the trucks and part of the superstructure had been located, but not the wreck of the Golden Dawn, which is not located in the same spot.
The shipwreck at the bottom
After the explosions and overturning, the ship – according to the autopsy – during the sinking, having earlier been freed from the cargo of the trucks, returned due to the low center of gravity of the engines and tanks to the correct position and settled on the sandy bottom with the oar and with a starboard inclination of 8 degrees.
The distinctive yellow-colored fog lights with the red-and-white logo of the ship-owning company, the letter P, stand out. A special underwater remotely operated vehicle ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) was used for the location and identification operation.
The stern catapult is closed and secured, the anchors are in place in the ship’s holds, and sheets are seen shifting to starboard. On the wreck are fishing gear, such as the net next to the ladder that led to the upper aft deck.
At the stern, you can also see the winch that was used to manage the cables when the ship was moored in port. On the aft right side you can clearly see the corridor which even today has the two characteristic benches. There is the manhole that led to the engine room half open…
Source: Skai
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