To Salamis naval station will be transferred in the next period the destroyer ship “Arrow”in order to fully repair the damage caused by the bad weather last November, to be docked and maintained, according to sources from the Ministry of National Defense.

The same sources state that it will take several months to complete the necessary periodic maintenance and then there is the will and the assurance from the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias (to the governor of K. Macedonia Apostolos Tzitzikostas), but also the prime minister himself Kyriakos Mitsotakis, that it will return to Thessaloniki in order to become, the only one for the city, a floating living museum of the Navy. At the same time, the optimal solution is being considered, for where it will anchor safely, in order to be visited by the public. The one solution being considered, as the sources of the ministry point out, is to remain at the first pier of the port and the second one near the Concert Hall.

On his part, Mr Stelios Angeloudis, mayor of Thessaloniki wants the destroyer to be an ark of memory for Thessaloniki, a permanent living museum within Thermaikos, to be visited by citizens from all over the world, following a series of actions in recent months to make this possible.

“We fought to keep it, when it was injured by the weather, which resulted in it being damaged,” the mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, emphasized to APE – MEP and noted: “an attempt was made to land in Athens. I think that coordinated actions not only by the municipality but by all the competent bodies of the city, prevented this transfer. The issue now is that the permanent place should be found, to be attached.”

As he points out, “the intended use is to develop into a permanent living museum within the sea. Chest of memory. I have carried this request all these decades in every direction. The spaces that exist are specific. And for that reason, the Department of Defense needs to be helped to have that place to dive into. That is, either inside the port, where it is at the moment, or in the area where it was in the past, but with appropriate safeguards, so that the weather does not catch it again. The only thing that is certain is that the anti-destroyer Arrow must not leave and we will not let it leave Thessaloniki”.

“The ship, according to what the prime minister said months ago, will stay in Thessaloniki. But this does not mean that it should not receive the required maintenance and tanking, which cannot be done in Thessaloniki because there is no suitable tank. We have therefore requested, as SFEA (Association of Imprisoned and Exiled Resistance Fighters), by letter to the competent Ministers of Defense and Shipping, as well as to the Municipality of Thessaloniki, as well as by my personal visit to the Deputy Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Stefanos Ghika, that a suitable space be found outside from the prohibited zone of the port, just beyond the “kitchen bar”, where it will be safe but also accessible”, explained to APE – MEB the flag bearer of the destroyer, Panagiotis Hatziperos.

“Velos” has been in Thessaloniki since September 2019. It was initially docked in Nea Paralia and has been in the port for the last few months. As Mr. Hatziperos pointed out to APE-MPE, “it is a fact that the museum ship had a lot of visitors, but the position where it was moored astern was unsafe, because it was exposed to Vardaris. So he risked many times, even sinking. The last incident was last November, where it was seriously “injured” in the stern. So they were now forced to rush it into the port of Thessaloniki for repair and protection, but without visitors. This has been happening for eight months now, due to port rules (ISPS). This, in my opinion, is inadmissible, especially at this time when we are celebrating 50 years of democracy,” he emphasized.

“In order for the Arrow to be visited, it should be placed vertically as it was in the Nea Paralia of Thessaloniki so that people can climb up. Vertically, not sideways, because sideways is difficult to enter while vertical may be easier for the public to enter. A good choice of location is the first pier of the harbor which is visitable and open to the public. The Arrow should be permanently placed there so people can now visit it. On the other hand, either here or somewhere else, this should be chosen as soon as possible and before winter comes with bad weather,” the mayor emphasized.

Apart from the port, another suitable spot is the sea area near the Concert Hall, as clarified by the mayor of Thessaloniki. He explained that although the necessary actions have been taken, a solution has not yet been provided. “I have sent letters to the Ministry of Defense and to the port of Thessaloniki, where I request that this possibility be granted to us. We have to join forces in the city, because it is not just a matter of the municipality. There are co-competent Ministries. The municipality is not involved, but acts in the context of the claim with the aim of keeping the museum in Thessaloniki”, he noted.