Cargo steam ship “Rosa Vlassi”, with Piraeus ship register number 1531, DDS S.V.G.T, a volume of 1959 gross registered tonnage and 914 net registered tonnage, 2784 tones transport capacity, constructed in 1946 at Sunderland, functioning with a three-cylinder reciprocating 750 I.H.P engine. The ship owners were the brothers Giorgos and Alexandros Christos Vlassis and each one of them owned 50% of the ship.
“Rosa Vlassi” loaded a cargo of 2900 tones of mixed ferro-silicon, with a proportion of 75% flote and 25% common, and sailed on 24 December 1959 at about 14.40 to Piraeus.
The captain was Pavlos Koskorozis and the crew was constituted by:
1. Vlamidiros Stereboken, Lieutenant
2. Vassilios Pavlopoulos, Aspirant Master
3. Elias Matis, Wireless Operator
4. Stavros Giarenakis, First Engineer
5. Evangelos Kotrozos, Second Engineer
6. Ioannis Saravanos, Boatswain
7. Stavros Voutsas, Sailor
8. Kiriakos Floris, Sailor
9. Ioannis Tsarouchas , Sailor
10. Demetrios Tsarouchas, Junior Sailor
11. Demetrios Kokoris, Chief Stoker
12. Anastasios Choibos, Stoker
13. Vassilios Patrinos, Stoker
14. Charalampos Michael, Stoker
15. Stilianos Diakogiorgos, Steward
At about 16.50, almost all the crew fell into the sea, while the ship was overturning. Thanks to the Lieutenant’s composure and courage, the crew members Vlamidiros Stereboken, Elias Matis, Stavros Voutsas, Kiriakos Floris and Pavlos Koskorozis were saved by a floating boat and Vassilios Pavlopoulos was saved by the fishing boat “Elpis”. The other crew members were lost. It is intact in a depth of 51m lying on it’s port side.
The ship, sailing 1 mile and a half south of Sounio, started to incline at an angle of 40-45 degrees and the captain turned slowly in order to reach Lavrio, ordering at the same time the crew to wear the life jackets and broadcast the danger signal.At that moment, the time was 16:33. Because of the inclination, the captain could not handle the helm anymore.
Sources & photography by:
Christos Ntounis, Wrecks at Greek Seas 1951-2000, Volume B.
Koiverakis Antonios
Antony Grafas / www.grafasdiving.gr
Erikos Kranidiotis / www.addicted2h2o.com
Caroline Negrin
