SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
See also: Namibian shipwrecks
March 17:
“This day in South African shipwreck History”
1589: São Thomé, this Portuguese wooden sailing vessel foundered in the Lake Sibaya vicinity off the St Lucia coast in KwaZulu-Natal. It is reported that approximately 375 lives were lost because of the wrecking with some survivors having made it onto the lifeboats. The vessel had started leaking badly and although repaired, in the heavy seas the leak returned and could not be patched with the ship eventually foundering.
1818: Malta, this wooden sailing snow wrecked below the Military Hospital in Paarden Island in Table Bay in the Western Cape. It now lies beneath reclaimed land.
1855: Flying Dragon, this sailing barque caught fire and burned out in Simons Bay in False Bay in the Western Cape. The master’s son was sleeping below deck and lost his life.
1880: Wilhelmine, this sailing schooner wrecked in a south easterly gale in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape.
1926: Paparoa, this steel steam-powered ship suffered a spontaneous combustion which caused a fire in a hold filled with coal. It foundered near St Helena Bay off the west coast in the Western Cape.
1966: Mary Anne, this motor-powered fishing trawler wrecked on Kayser’s Beach in East London in the Eastern Cape.
1978: Pantelis A Lemos, this approximately 35 500 gross tonnage motor-powered bulk carrier wrecked on 16 Mile Beach, 2.5km south of Tsaarsbank beach, in the Western Cape.
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| Pantelis A Lemos was still very much visible in 1995 |
It ran aground in thick fog and due to poor navigation. A fire broke out because of overworked generators and no effort was made to extinguish it. A court of inquiry found the master, mate, and chief engineer guilty of neglect. It was insured for $50 million at the time and was one of the costliest claims in decades.
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| Pantelis A Lemos had broken up considerably by 2013 |
The wreck has been battered and broken up by the surf and has predominantly disappeared below the water. Occasionally, pending the weather and conditions, some parts can be spotted sticking out from the beach and on satellite images.
Aerial photo/video service/inquiries: info@traveltonamibia.com
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