The
Wreck of the 'Dimitris'
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The
Wreck of the ‘Dimitris’
The
wreck of the Greek steamer ‘Dimitris’ on the East
Scar Rocks at Redcar in December 1953, is probably
the most dived shipwreck on the Cleveland coast.
A popular and easy site to reach, the history
of this wreck is often overlooked and even though
the wreckage covers a very large area of the seabed,
few divers seem to have explored it all.
The
First
World War took a huge toll in Merchant ships and
their crews. By 1915, over 1,600,000 tons of shipping
had been sent to the bottom and Britain was facing
the very real prospect of being starved into submission.
Despite every effort, British shipbuilding yards
simply could not replace the amount of tonnage
lost to the U-boats and by 1916 the Government
finally realised just how serious the situation
had become.
The
newly formed Merchant Shipbuilding Advisory Committee
decided that a strong, roomy cargo vessel, capable
of being mass-produced to a certain ‘standard’,
was required. In addition, to make the task of
the enemy U-boat Captains as difficult as possible,
the silhouette of the new vessel was to be kept
low and inconspicuous. To produce this new type
of ‘standard’ ship, abandoned and derelict shipyards
were brought back to life and new ones established.
Orders
for new ships were placed in America, France,
Japan and Italy. Canada too, began a massive programme
of shipbuilding. When built, the names of these
‘standard’ ships were prefixed with the word “War”
- the ‘War Shamrock’ was the first British-built
‘standard’ ship to be completed.
The
‘Dimitris’ actually began life as a Standard “A”
Class vessel, the ‘War Malayan’ .
She was laid down in 1918 by Caird & Co. Ltd.
at Greenock, of 5,202 grt (gross registered tons)
and 3130 nrt (net registered tons)*. She measured
400.3 feet long, with a beam of 52.3 feet, a depth
of hold of 28.5 feet and was powered by a 3-cylinder
Triple-expansion engine also built by Caird &
Co. This gave her a top speed of 11 knots.
She
was one of a number of “A” Class vessels that
were intended to be converted into “AO” Class
oil-tankers (‘British Standard Ships of World
War I’, Vol.3 - W.H.Mitchell & L.A.Sawyer),
though it is unclear if she was so converted.
Completed just after the end of the war in 1919,
she was sold to a Greek, S.G.Embiricos, who re-named
her the ‘Michael L. Embiricos’ .
She
spent the next 33 years quietly going about her
business, interrupted only by the Second World
War which, unlike a great many ships, she managed
to survive. In 1952 she was sold on to new Greek
owners, Bogiazides Brothers & N.D.Rallias
and re-named ‘Dimitris’ , though
her Port of Registry still remained Andros.
Her
final voyage began on December 1st, 1953, when
she left the port of Bona, in Algeria, bound for
Middlesbrough, a port she had visited on a number
of occasions, with a cargo of iron ore. At around
9.30 p.m. on December 14th, in good visibility
and the moon shining, the ‘Dimitris’ inexplicably
crashed onto the East Scar rocks, some 300 yards
from the shore. At 10.17 p.m. Cullercoats Radio
received the following message from the stricken
vessel - “SOS, Have run ashore one mile from Middlesbrough
Roads; require tugs.”
Chief
Cook Petre Theoharopulos (the only member of the
crew who could speak English) later spoke to an
Evening Gazette reporter - “I was in the galley
when it happened. There was a bang and the ship
shuddered. A few minutes later the lights went
out and I ran out on deck.”
The
‘Dimitris’ had struck the rocks amidships; the
engine-room quickly flooded and the boilers put
out. Distress flares were fired and the Redcar
Lifeboat ‘City of Leeds’, was quickly launched
and on the scene. In pitch darkness and with a
heavy swell running, the Lifeboat successfully
took off 22 of the 36-man crew, the remaining
14 crew being brought ashore in two local fishing
boats.
At
daylight the next morning, officials from the
Tees Towing Company surveyed the vessel and held
out little hope of refloating her.
An
extract from Lloyd’s Weekly Casualty Reports stated;
“ Steamer Dimitris stranded at seaward end of
Flashes reef off Redcar, at 9.30 p.m. on Dec.14
while on voyage from Bona to Tees, laden with
7500 tons of iron ore. Vessel now heading north-east.
Machinery space commenced to make water rapidly
and crew was taken off by lifeboat shortly before
11 p.m. Vessel was boarded this morning to remove
crew’s belongings, when condition of vessel was
found as follows; Forepeak dry; No.1, 6 inches;
No.2 Starboard, 18 inches; No.2 Port, 3 inches;
No.3 Starboard, dry; No.3 Port, 6 inches; No.4,
dry; Afterpeak, 6 feet freshwater, engine and
boiler rooms and cross-bunker, tidal. Position
extremely exposed. Salvage dependent on machinery
space being brought under control. Now investigating
possibilities - Salvage Association’s Special
Officer.”
Listing
to starboard and firmly impaled on the rocks,
the ‘Dimitris’ was doomed. Extensive salvage operations
were carried out in 1954 and the actions of the
sea soon reduced the vessel to a pile of scrap
metal.
Today,
the wreckage of this vessel, known to generations
of local scuba-divers as the ‘Dimi’, provides
one of the best dives on this coast. Lying in
shallow water and in an exposed, rocky position,
marine life thrives here. Many types of kelp,
crabs, lobsters and fish are the regular residents,
while large Grey seals are also frequent visitors.
At
low water Spring Tides, one of the three large
boilers just breaks surface and a steel post also
marks the site from just after half-tide. The
propellor shaft is still in situ and two sections
of the shaft tunnel can still be swum through
(with a little care).
The
rudder, quadrant and a 9.5m long section of the
stock are still in position and the vessel’s spare
4-bladed iron propellor is clearly visible and
lies nearby. Much of the remainder of the wreckage
is made up of the lower hull plates and cover
a surprisingly large area, while in the area of
the bows, a considerable quantity of anchor chain
covers the seabed.
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