SS ''Heimara'' (sometimes spelled as ''Himara'' or ''Chimara'', el, Χειμάρρα) was a passenger steamer operating the

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 Saronic ...

–

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

route. The ship hit a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

and sank on 19 January 1947 in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, killing around 400 people. It is Greece's deadliest maritime disaster.

Background

The vessel was built in 1905 as SS ''Hertha'' by

Stettiner Oderwerke Oderwerke or Stettiner Oderwerke was a German shipbuilding company, located in Stettin. History Oderwerke was founded on January 28, 1903 and built 154 ships prior to World War I. During World War II Oderwerke built two German Type VII submarin ...

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. She had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , gross register tonnage of 1,221 tons and a top speed of . Originally, she was used to carry

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

and after 1914 as a hospital ship and a

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

in the service of the Imperial Navy. In the summer of 1946, she was transferred to the

Greek State Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

as a German

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

reparation and was renamed SS ''Heimara'' after Himara, a city in Albania.

Sinking

On January 18, 1947, ''Heimara'' sailed from Thessaloniki bound for

with a crew of 86 and about 550 passengers. With the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

in progress, 36 of the passengers were

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s being sent to exile. Due to adverse weather conditions, her captain decided to set course through the Euboean Gulf and avoid the dangerous

Cape Kafireas Cape Caphereus or Cape Kafireas ( el, Ακρωτήριο Καφηρέας, older form: Καφηρεύς), also known as Cavo D'Oro ( el, Κάβο Ντόρο, from the Italian language, Italian for "Cape of Gold") is a promontory on the southeastern ...

(''Cavo D' Oro'') at the southeastern tip of the island of

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

. After a stopover in

Chalkida Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

where she disembarked 10 passengers, she put to sea again at 01.30 am. Around 4:00 am of 19 January 1947, while sailing in fog in the

South Euboean Gulf The South Euboean Gulf ( el, Νότιος Ευβοϊκός Κόλπος, ''Notios Evvoïkos Kolpos'') is a gulf in Central Greece, between the island of Euboea and the Greek mainland (Boeotia and Attica). With a total length of approximately 50&n ...

, the vessel hit a reef near the Verdugia ( el, Βερδούγια) islets, which are located between and . The collision caused

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

and radio damage as well as flooding. It took ''Heimara'' one and a half hours to sink after the accident, only one mile off the shore of

Kavalliani Kavalliani is a small island in the South Euboean Gulf. It is located opposite of ancient Rhamnous in Attica. The island is still uninhabited although a building cooperative of Emporiki Bank is developed in the island. The island has an area about ...

islet. However, the panic during her disorderly abandonment, combined with the low temperatures and strong sea currents, resulted in around 400 people perishing. Several sources quote 383 victims but the exact figure is unknown as the number of those aboard was not confirmed.

Aftermath

Early accounts attributed the accident to ''Heimara'' hitting a loose

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

, however they were not confirmed. Investigations concluded that she had drifted several miles off course. Due to its high death toll, the accident become known as the ''Greek Titanic''.''Χειμάρα: Ο ελληνικός «Τιτανικός»'', tvxs.gr, 19 January 2020
archive
here
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heimara Maritime incidents in Greece Maritime incidents in 1947 Shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea 1905 ships 1947 in Greece

Background

Sinking

Aftermath

See also

References