SEA WRECKS 
Rosa Vlassi
Background information
Cargo steamboat ROSA VLASSI, registry of Piraeus 1531, gross registered tonnage 1959 t, net registered tonnage 914t, carrying capacity 2,784t, built in 1946 in SUNDERLAND, IDL: S.V.T.G, powered by a reciprocating engine 750 I.H.P.
The ship was initially named Empire Lowlander. She was manufactured in 1946 to the order of the British War Office. She was 273 or 283,7ft long and top speed 9 ½ knots. The same year the ship was sold to William Cory Ltd in London and was renamed Corflow. In 1959 it was sold back to G.Vlassis & Co. George and Alexander Chr. Vlassis had joint ownership of the vessel.
The ship loaded 2,900 tons of iron pyrites in Stratoni and on the 24th December 1959 around 14.40 she sailed to Piraeus with captain Pavlos Koskorozis and the following crew members:
- Vladimir STERENBOCKEN, Chief Mate
- Vasilios PAVLOPOULOS, Cadet Captain
- Ilias MATIS, Wireless Telephone Operator
- Stavros YIARENAKIS, Engineer in Chief
- Evangelos KOTROZOS, First Assistant Engineer
- Ioannis SARAVANOS, Bosun
- Stavros VOUTSAS, Sailor
- Kyriakos FLORIS, Sailor
- Ioannis TSAROUHAS, Sailor
- Dimitrios TSAROUHAS, Deck Boy
- Dimitrios KOKORIS, Chief Stocker
- Anastasios HOIBOS, Fireman
- Vasilios PATRINOS, Fireman
- Haralabos MIHAIL, Fireman
- Stylianos DIAKOGIORGOS, Bed Room Steward
- Triantafyllos LIAPIDIS
- Stavros YIANNIKAKIS
Sailing 1,5 miles south of Sounio the ship developed a 40-45◦ list ; the captain turned slowly towards Lavrio and ordered his crew to put on their lifejackets and send out an SOS. It was 16.33 p.m. Due to her list the ship couldn’t be steered efficiently. At 16.35 the Rosa Vlassi sent out the following message: ‘S.O.S. We are in danger one mile south of Sounio listing by 45 degrees. At 16.50 p.m they all abandoned the ship just before she overturned.
It was thanks to the Chief Mate’s composure and courage that some members of the crew managed to get into a lifeboat and save themselves. Their names were B. Sterenbocken, I. Koskorozis. I. Matis, S. Voutsas and K. Floris. Vasilis Pavlopoulos was collected by the fish boat ELPIS. The rest of the crew members did not survive.
During the questioning that followed the incident the survivors claimed that there was no overloading and attributed her sinking to the shifting of liquid cargo.
The dives
The port of the ship is embedded in the sand on a maximum depth of 66m and a minimum depth of 51 m.
It is a demanding dive since the shipwreck is deep and in the open sea. The use of a line is imperative. Mixed gases are preferable for dives in such depth.
It should be noted that the sea currents in the region could be really strong. In some dives we had to cope with several problems not only on the surface but also at the deepest point of the shipwreck.
The visibility round the shipwreck is season-dependent. In the winter it is fairly poor and there is much sediment round the shipwreck but in the summer it is much better.
The shipwreck is in a very good condition without any fishing nets and trawl lines on it. One can visit most of its parts, like the engine room, the holds in front of the bridge and the area in front of the bow (the area used by a bosun). Entering the bridge and the other rooms is quite problematic since the corridor leading to them is particularly narrow and there are several wires all around.
The propeller is in position on 62m depth. The same applies to the flare stack, which bears the distinguishing B inscription, the air shafts over the engine room and the devices which held the boats. The anchor is in position as well.
The shipwreck is covered with benthos which makes dives to it dangerous. It has evolved into an exquisite artificial reef which hosts all kinds of sea creatures, from the smalest (nudibranchs,crabs) to octopuses, moray eels, scorpios etc. One can often see schools of Greater amberjack's
The Sea-Wrecks Team.
Sources: ‘Τα Ναυάγια στις Ελληνικές Θάλασσες’ Volume II- Χρήστου Ντούνη- Vice Admiral, Honorary Chief of the Coast Guard, Newspapers: Eleftheria, Vradini, Macedonia, The World-Wide Web