The ''Aeolian Sky'' was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

-run freighter built in 1978, which collided with another ship near the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

and after a failed attempt at salvage sank off the coast of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a storm in late 1979.

Description

The ''Aeolian Sky'' was completed in 1978 at the Japanese Hashihama Shipyard. She was 148 metres long, measured over 14,000 tonnes, and was valued at £3 million. Registered in the Greek port of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

, she was run by Proteus Maritime SA, and was a conventional modern ship with crew quarters in the superstructure and her own large derricks for unloading cargo.

Sinking

In late 1979 the ''Aeolian Sky'' sailed from Hull, via

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, to Dar es Salaam in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. On 3 November 1979 while travelling 20 miles off the coast of Guernsey in the

she collided with the German coaster ''Anna Knueppell'' in fog, during a storm at 4.30 a.m. A French tug based at Cherbourg, the ''Abeille Languedoc'', went to the scene and managed to get a line aboard. Plans were initially laid to tow her back to the French port; only lightly damaged, the ''Anna Knuepell'' stood by to render assistance if needed. At 9.30 in the morning a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

helicopter arrived and evacuated most of the crew; it then had to withdraw to its base at

Lee-on-Solent Lee-on-the-Solent, often referred to as Lee-on-Solent, is a seaside district of the Borough of Gosport in Hampshire, England, about five miles (8 km) west of Portsmouth. The area is located on the coast of the Solent. It is primarily a res ...

with engine problems, leaving a handful of crew aboard the now sinking vessel. By this time the ship had drifted some distance and was sinking at the bows, so the initial plan was abandoned and the tug headed for

The Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

. However, the port authorities of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, concerned that the ship would sink fouling their busy waterways, declined permission for her to enter either port. With the weather at gale force, the tug started to tow the ''Aeolian Sky'' into the storm to try to make the shelter of Portland Harbour. However at 3.45 a.m. on 4 November 1979 she took on too much water and sank 5 miles south of St Aldhelm's Head, still 12 miles from the safety of Portland. She settled on her port side in 30 metres of water with her bows facing south.

The wreck

Since her sinking the wreck has become a popular dive site as she is accessible from Swanage, Weymouth and

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct fr ...

based diving trips. At the time of sinking she lay 9 metres below the surface but salvage work, and explosives used to reduce the risk of her becoming a hazard to navigation, have lowered this to 18 metres. Her bows were blown off during this activity and lie separate from the main body of the wreck. The wreck is at . Diver Magazine has produced a tour of the wreck.

Cargo

She lies surrounded by parts of Land Rovers and pipes that were among her cargo: she was also carrying two 0-6-0 diesel electric

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

manufactured by

Brush Traction Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...

for the

Tanzania Railways Corporation The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks. When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tan ...

, and a load of chemicals, some hazardous. Also among her cargo were a million pounds in Seychelles Rupees, most of which have yet to be recovered (although a few have made their way to auction). Divers report that the wreck is surrounded by thousands of jars of

Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aeolian Sky 1977 ships Cargo ships of Greece Shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in 1979 History of Dorset Wreck diving sites in the United Kingdom Ships sunk in collisions