Digital Spot for “Christoforos” Shipwreck
Digital Spot in Agnontas: What exactly is it?
The Digital Spot in Agnontas Port is the public information and awareness center regarding the Christoforos Shipwreck in Panormos Bay of Skopelos Island.
The virtual dive is carried out with virtual reality devices (VR), digital material (videos and photos), drawings of the Christoforos shipwreck, and additional information material about it. The virtual trip provides enough information about other wrecks found in the Magnesia and Northern Sporades marine area as well. The opening date of the “Digital Spot” in Agnontas was on July 8, 2022. Since then, it has been open daily from 17:00 to 21:30, with free entrance for the public. The diving tourism of Skopelos has increased. The Diving Center of Skopelos, which is located at the Adrina Beach Hotel in Panormos, was created in 2015.
The Ship Christoforos
Our ship “Christoforos” is a classic example of a “collier” cargo ship. Collier ships were built to transport coal or “black diamonds”, as they were called in those days. Christoforos’ ship is 85 meters long and 13 meters wide.
Christoforos’ ship was constructed in January 1950. The place of manufacture was the Grangemouth shipyard in Scotland. Its original name was “Thomas Hardie”. From 1968 to 1975, it traveled under the name “Birling”. The cargo ship was officially registered in the Greek merchant fleet in 1976. Since then, it traveled as “Christoforos”.
The chronicle of the sinking
On the morning of October 2, 1983, the Christoforos cargo ship sailed for another journey from Volos to Piraeus port with Algeria as its final destination. The ship carried 2,600 tonnes of cement, and the crew consisted of 15 people.
Although the weather conditions were suitable, during the evening they changed. The weather became rainy with gusty northerly winds. Then, a 7-degree tilt to the starboard was observed, which increased with time. Under these conditions, and while the ship was 12 nm North of the island of Pontikonisi, the ship changed course in search of a safe anchorage, which, after a suggestion from the fishing vessel Giannakis, was Panormos of Skopelos. The ship reached Panormos Bay at around 16:00. One of the bridge’s portholes was already broken by the waves, causing the bridge to be awash. The 7-degree right tilt had become 17 degrees, and water was found to be flowing into the No. 1 hull. Even though the pump was turned on, the water level remained stable. It was around 20:00 when the increase in gradient caused the right banister to be in the sea.
At 22:00, the captain and the shipowners, in direct consultation with the Ministry of Merchant Shipping, gave the order to the crew to abandon the ship. The captain, the lieutenant, and the quartermaster remained on board, exploring with the fishing boat Giannakis the depths around the anchorage to safely anchor the vessel. However, there were no possibilities for that. As a result, the last remaining occupants abandoned the ship. Christophoros finally sank at 05:30 in the morning on 3 October 1983 at a depth of 43 meters.
The shipwreck “Christoforos” is an accessible underwater sight
Nearly 40 years have passed, and the “Christoforos” shipwreck continues to be in an upright position at the bottom of Panormos in Skopelos.
The Christoforos shipwreck is now officially available to the public. It took a few years of effort to achieve diving accessibility to the Shipwreck in Panormos Bay. The Underwater Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture, the Thessaly Region, and the Skopelos Diving Center collaborated to succeed it. This cooperation led to the redevelopment of the archaeological site in Panormos, offering the public the opportunity to dive into the Shipwreck of Christoforos.
