VIRGO and APOLLONIAN WAVE in MIMIZAN |
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LA MORT DU VIRGO. Le cargo VIRGO de 109,25 mètres de long, battant pavillon grec, construit sous le nom de GRÖNNEBEK en 1954 par les chantiers Orenstein-Koppel à Lübeck en Allemagne, est arrivé à Bayonne de Eilat en Israël le 25 novembre 1976 pour décharger 4648 tonnes de phosphates. Le 30 novembre, il quitte Bayonne direction Lisbonne au Portugal. Depuis la plage, les secours s'organisent et l'équipage peut quitter le navire au petit matin. Quelques jours plus tard, à la faveur d'un nouveau coup de mer, l'océan s'empare du VIRGO qui semble vouloir quitter la plage par ses propres moyens mais les vagues le rejettent presque aussitôt, flanc bâbord vers la côte cette fois-ci. Le destin du vieux cargo est rapidement scellé. Il sera démoli sur place. Le démentèlement commence au mois d'avril 1977, mais début juillet, un violent incendie ravage les restes de l'épave. Les pompiers mettront de longues heures à circonscrire le feu et éviter qu'il n'atteigne les 70 tonnes de fuel lourd qui résident encore dans les soutes. Aujourd'hui, lorsqu'on se promène sur la plage de Lespecier, on peut encore observer quelques vestiges du vieux navire au milieu de la plage. |
THE DEATH OF VIRGO. The steam-ship VIRGO, 109.25 meters long, flying the Greek flag, built under the name GRÖNNEBEK in 1954 by Orenstein-Koppel yards in Lübeck in Germany, arrived in Bayonne on November 25, 1976, from Eilat, Israel to unload 5648 tons of phosphates. On November 30, she leaves Bayonne, heading for Lisbon, Portugal. A few days later, the ocean takes the VIRGO again, because of a new gale. VIRGO seems to leave the beach alone, but waves reject her immediately on the sand, port side toward the coast, this time, further up the beach. From there, she will never move again. The destiny of the old ship is quickly sealed. She will be broken up on the sand. The dismantling operations begin in April 1977 but in early July, a massive fire destroyed the relics of the vessel. Firefighters will fight long hours to extinguish the fire and prevent it from reaching the 70 tonnes of fuel oil still remaining in the tanks of the Virgo. The old Greek ship is finaly completely broken up at the end of summer 1977. Today, when you walk on the beach of Lespecier, you can still see some relics of the old ship on the sand. |
Vision of the VIRGO and the APOLLONIAN WAVE during the gale (Ph. Lauga) |
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VIRGO even in her sad situation is still a superb steam freighter - Photo : Claude Juglin |
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VIRGO heading North and in the back ground at 700 m, we see the APOLLONIAN WAVE - Photo : Claude Juglin |
On the sunset, with the high tide, the VIRGO try to leave the beach alone. The waves will throw again the vessel on the sand - Photo : Claude Juglin |
VIRGO is now and definitively heading south - Photo : Michel Sourbé |
VIRGO and APOLLONIAN WAVE. Amazing vision on the beach - Photofrom my personal collection |
VIRGO Spring 1977 : Demolition has begun - Photo from my personal collection |
VIRGO Spring 1977 : Demolition has begun - Photo from my personal collection (Sud-Ouest 1977) |
VIRGO on fire - Photo from my personal collection (Sud-Ouest 1977) |
Poor VIRGO after the fire - Photo from my personal collection (Sud-Ouest 1977) |
The relics of the VIRGO 42 years later, sometimes visible on the beach - Photo Ph. Lauga | ||
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VIRGO : General Cargo Ship, IMO 5136531, built in 1954 as GRÖNNEBEK in Orenstein-Koppel shipyard in Lübeck (Germany), LOA : 109.2 m, Beam : 14.8 m - DWT : 4808 T, Gross : 2485 T Ex GRONNEBEK (1954-1969) - SUNSHINE (1969-1971) - NICOLAOS H (1971-1976) - VIRGO (1976-1977) - Broken up in 1977, Mimizan beach (France) |
LE TRAGIQUE DESTIN DE L'APOLLONIAN WAVE Le pétrolier grec APOLLONIAN WAVE construit au Japon à Innoshima en 1958 effectue son dernier voyage. Il a quitté Falmouth en Angleterre et se rend vers les chantiers de démolition espagnols de San Esteban de Pravia. A bord, il y a 24 membres d'équipage. On a joué la carte de l'économie pour cet ultime voyage : juste ce qu'il faut de combustible pour arriver à destination. C'était sans compter avec la tempête qui a ralenti le voyage. Conclusion, c'est la panne de machine ! Le navire est en perdition dans le golfe de Gascogne. L'équipage a lancé des appels de détresse et une tentative de remorquage est mise en oeuvre. Le remorqueur de haute mer allemand PACIFIC passe une remorque mais celle-ci casse. Le tanker continue de dériver et se rapproche de la côte. L'échouement est désormais inévitable. L'équipage est évacué dans la journée du 2 décembre par hélicoptère. Le vieux navire de 207 mètres dérive seul et abandonné, et vient lui aussi s’échouer à Mimizan, à 700 mètres au sud du Virgo. Le pétrolier doit absolument quitter la plage. Sa position est inquiétante. Dans ses tanks, 10000 litres d'eau de mer souillée de déchêts d'hydrocarbures, entrée à cause de la gîte, de vannes ouvertes et d'une brèche sous la coque. Mi mai, la société italienne Sotramar rachète le navire et déclare pouvoir le remettre à flot pour le remorquer jusqu'en Espagne. Au bout de longs mois de travail, l'APOLLONIAN WAVE est enfin redressé. A la faveur des gros coefficients de marée du mois d'octobre, le remorqueur allemand PACIFIC tente à plusieurs reprises de tracter le pétrolier, mais toutes les tentatives échouent. Alberto Felici, le propriétaire du navire est furieux. Il rompt le contrat qui le lie à l'armateur allemand du PACIFIC. Le remorqueur fera de nouveau parler de lui 5 mois plus tard, lors de la tragédie de l'AMOCO CADIZ, sur les côtes de Bretagne. La démolition réalisée par l'entreprise Delair, de Camarsac en Gironde, durera deux ans. |
THE TRAGIC FATE OF APOLLONIAN WAVE The Greek tanker APOLLONIAN WAVE built in Innoshima (Japan) in 1958 is doing her last trip. She has left Falmouth in England and she sails to San Esteban de Pravia, in Spain to be broken up. On board, there is a crew of 24 men. Her owner played the card of the economy for this last trip : just enough fuel to reach her destination. But, the storm delayes the trip. Conclusion, it is the breakdown of the engine ! The ship drifts in the Bay of Biscay, the master of the vessel sends a distress calls and a towing attempt is realized. The german high seas tug PACIFIC takes the vessel in tow but the towing line breaks several times. The old tanker continues to drift and approaches the coast. The grounding is now inevitable. The crew is evacuated during the day on December 2 by helicopter. The 207 meters long old tanker vessel drifts alone and abandoned. She finaly runs aground in the beach of Mimizan, at 700 meters south from the Virgo. The tanker ship must absolutely leave the beach. Her position is worrisome. In her tanks, 10000 liters of seawater mixed with oil waste, entered because of the list, open valves and a breach under the hull. In mid-May, the Italian company Sotramar buys the ship and declares to be able to refloat and tow her up to Spain. After long months of work, the APOLLONIAN WAVE is finally in an upright position. In October, taking advantage of the high tide coefficients, the German tug PACIFIC makes several attempts to tow the tanker, but the efforts are inadequate and all attempts fail. Alberto Felici, the owner of the vessel is furious. He breaks the contract that binds him to the german shipping company of the PACIFIC. The tug will make talk again about him 5 months later, during the tragedy of the AMOCO CADIZ, on the coasts of Brittany. The demolition carried out by the company Delair, from Camarsac, near Bordeaux, will last two years. |
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Apollonian Wave stranded at 700 m from the Virgo - Photo : Claude Juglin |
Even if this is a wreak, this is still a superb ship! - Photos : Claude Juglin |
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Apollonian Wave, just arrived in Mimizan. Such a beautiful vessel (Photo from my personal collection) |
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Apollonian Wave after the storm. Photo from my personalcollection (Sud-Ouest 1977) |
Apollonian Wave capsized on starboard - Photo : Gilbert Saint Guirons |
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Alberto Felici, in the middle, managing the salvage operation of the APOLLONIAN WAVE. Off the coast, the PACIFIC is ready. But all the attempts will fail. | After several attempts, engine failures on board the german tug, towing line breakings, the tanker is still grounded, parallel to the beach. | ||
New attemts with the BISCAY SKY in November 1977 | The sad moment when the vessel breaks into two | Apollonian Wave broken into two - Photos from my personal collection | |
The dismantling of the APOLLONIAN WAVE is a difficult and dangerous operation. | Today, some relics of the wreck are visible when the tide is very low. | ||
APOLLONIAN WAVE : Oil Tanker, IMO : 5377446, built in 1958 a VEGA by Hitachi Shipyard in Innoshima (Japan), LOA : 207 m, Beam : 26,5 m, DWT : 33805 T, Gross21215 T Ex VEGA (1958-1971) - VEGA I (1971-1973) - APOLLONIAN WAVE (1973-1977) - Broken up on the Mimizan beach in 1980. |
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