Shipwreck Motorship Pilaros

Motorship “Pilaros”, with Piraeus ship register number 5612, DDS SV 4076, a volume of 655 gross registered tonnage and 273 net registered tonnage, 760 tones transport capacity, 59 meters length, constructed in 1954 at the shipyard of STOCZNIA IM. KOMUNY DARYSKEI at GDYNIA, with a MEK NYDQVIST 640 BHP engine.The ship with a timber cargo of 1.012m³ at its hold and deck had sailed on 15 September 1976 from the Dubrovnik port of Croatia (in the past was belonging to Yugoslavia) to Tarsus port of Syria.The ship reached Piraeus port on 17 September 1976 in order to get food supplies and sailed for its destination at about 20.30 of the same day. However, after a while, and as the ship was still at Piraeus roadstead, during its try to avoid the collision with another ship, it suddenly turned right. The ship, because of this turn, took a very abrupt inclination and, despite the efforts, it was impossible to balance.The crew, afraid of a possible overturning of the ship, jumped into the sea and then was saved by the tugboats and police boats of the Hellenic Coast Guard that had already received a radiotelephone danger signal broadcast by the captain Christoforos Toumazatos. “Pilaros”, about one hour and a half later and as the 9-member crew had already abandoned it, overturned and sank.

The wreck

The wreck of the motorship Pylaros is located on the keel in a sandy sea bottom with a maximum depth of 52meters and a minimum depth of 35 meters approximately. The bow-stern axis has a direction of 280 degrees. The entire wreck is located there; however some of its parts are covered by the nets of fishing boats. The outside wheel that is located at the area of the stern is clearly evident. The wreck of the motorship Pylaros is a hot spot for many divers because its depth is quite reachable and it is close to the coast

Source: Christos Ntounis, Wrecks at Greek Seas 1951-2000, Volume B.

Dimitrios Efstathiadis