"Three Hierarchs": The ship that had been missing for half a century has been located

For more than half a century, the motorcycle "Three Hierarchs" was ignored, which sank spontaneously on February 14, 1959. It was identified 63 years later at a depth of 87,2 meters, northwest of Makronissos, by the research team of Kostas Thoktaridis. As he stated in ΑΠΕ - ΜΠΕ, the investigation and identification of the wreck was done with an underwater robotic vehicle ROV, Super Achille.

The motorcycle had sailed from Piraeus the day before its sinking at 5:10 in the afternoon. carrying 378 tonnes of corn-maize. It was to initially unload 278 tons of corn-corn in the port of Thessaloniki and then transport the rest of the cargo to Porto Lagos Xanthi. After loading the corn in its barns, three military trucks 6x6 type GMC (General Motors Corporation Truck) with a total weight of 14,4 tons were placed on the deck as a transport on behalf of the Greek Army.

On the day of departure, however, adverse weather conditions prevailed with winds approaching 8 Beaufort. The ship never reached its destination. It sank spontaneously on February 14, 1959, along with a 9-member sailor crew. Although the ship was wireless, it did not manage to transmit SOS.

Photographic and drawing on one of the military trucks found near the wreck THREE HIERACHES

The next day, a drift boat was found off the Punta Zeza area, as well as a wooden cover of the hold, which was towed to Lavrio. They were recognized as belonging to the THREE HIERARCHS. A reclining seat was also found on the rocky islet of Agios Georgios, which was identified as belonging to the trucks transported by the ship. These were the only findings that testified to what had happened.

The bow of the shipwreck THREE HIERARCHS

As it was identified during the identification, the steering wheel of the motorcycle is turned to the position all the way to the left, while the three military trucks were found out of the wreck, scattered on the seabed near the wreck. The motorcycle was the former Navy Pinios with a length of 43 meters and a width of 7,6.

Photographic capture and drawing of the wreck THREE HIERACHES

in.gr