The ''Athina B'' was a merchant ship. On 21 January 1980 she suffered engine failure in bad weather and beached at the English

seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, to the east of the town's Palace Pier. The ship was a temporary

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

, with the

Volk's Electric Railway Volk's Electric Railway (VER) is a narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August ...

opening out of season to serve the large number of sightseers.Pastfinders
/ref> The

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

of the ship is on display on Brighton seafront.My Brighton and Hove
Anchor A restaurant in Brighton bears the name of the shipThe Food Place
/ref> and a painting of ''Athena B'' by Dennis Roxby Bott is in Brighton Museum.Virtual Art Museum
Note incorrect spelling of name.

Career

Built as the ''Kojima Maru'' at Hiroshima in 1968, she initially sailed under the Japanese flag. She was renamed ''Hung Wei'' in 1973 and ''Nina Pa'' in 1976, before being sold and renamed the ''Athina B'' in 1979, sailing under the Greek flag.Miramar Ship Index – ''MS Athina B''
/ref>

Final voyage

The ''Athina B'' left the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

on 11 December 1979 laden with 3,000 tonnes of

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular vol ...

. Her destination was the port at

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on the ...

, West Sussex. During the voyage, she had problems with her

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

gyro compass A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth (or another planetary body if used elsewhere in the universe) to find geographical direction automatically. The use of a gyroc ...

and

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, and put in at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

in France for repairs. On arrival at Shoreham on 20 January, force seven or eight winds meant she was unable to enter harbour. Her engines failed, and a

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...

call was issued. The Shoreham

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

''Dorothy and Philip Constance'' took off half the crew and the captain's family, with the rest being rescued on the morning of 21 January. Four missions were needed to rescue all those on board. The ship drifted eastwards and eventually ran aground to the east of the

Palace Pier The Brighton Palace Pier, commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier, is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier in Brighton, England, located in the city centre opposite the Old Steine. Established in 1899, it was the third pier to be constr ...

. The ship broke her back and was declared a write-off.My Brighton and Hove
Athina B articleMy Brighton and Hove
The rescue
website

Awards

Coxwain Ken Voice was awarded a RNLI Silver Medal; Crew members Ken Everard, Michael Fox, Peter Huxtable, John Landale, Jack Silverson and Geoff Tugwell were awarded the RNLI's Thanks of the Institution on Vellum; Crew members Peter Everard and Derek Silverson received letters of thanks signed by the director of the RNLI for their part in the rescue of the crew of the ''Athina B''.

Salvage

The ship remained on the beach for a month, guarded by the police to prevent looting. After a mobile crane was used to remove the cargo, she was refloated and towed to a scrapyard at

Rainham, Kent Rainham ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. Historically, Rainham was a separate village until, in 1928, ...

on 21 February 1980, where she was scrapped.My Brighton and Hove
Guarding the wreck

References

External links