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  • Nº15 # Date: 2014-07-12 - 17:58
  • # Max Depth: 34.4m Duration: 63mins
Diver's Notes

On the evening on Tuesday 26 September 2000, MS Express Samina left the port of Piraeus with 473 passengers and 61 crew members. At 22:12, 2 nmi off the port of Parikia, Paros, the ship hit the reef of Portes islets[3] at 18 knots. The wind at the time was 8 on the Beaufort scale. The ship sunk near there at 23:02, resulting in the deaths of 82 people from a total of 533 on board. The first responders to the distress call were fishing boats from the nearby port, followed by the port authorities and British ships, in the area due to a NATO exercise. The fact that some of the crew did not help the passengers evacuate the sinking ferry contributed to the death toll. After that impact, the rocks bent the stabilizer fin backwards, and the fin cut through the hull through the side, below the waterline, and next to the engine room. The water from the three-meter gash destroyed the main generators and ended electrical power. Professor David Molyneaux, a ship safety expert, said that the damage sustained by the MS Express Samina should not normally sink such a ship. The ship sank because nine of the ship's eleven watertight compartment doors were open when safety laws require ship operators to close and lock the safety doors. The water spread beyond the engine room, and due to a lack of power the operators could not remotely shut the doors. Molyneaux described the open watertight doors as the most significant aspect of the sinking.

At 10:32, the ship listed by 33 degrees. By 10:50, the ship lay on its side. Since the clock on the bridge stopped at 11:02, authorities knew that the ship sank at that time. The degree of damage, the scenario, and the open vehicle deck space in RORO ferry design led to the sinking

Dive Profile
Dive Location

  • Temp: Surf 24°C Bottom 22°C
  • Dive type : Deep dive, Wreck
  • Visibility: Average Water: Salt
Specific gear used
  • Wet suit: Waterproof Diving AB - W2 7MM (BACKZIP)
  • Boots: Waterproof Diving AB - Tough 6.5mm semi-dry boot
  • Mask: TUSA - Visio Pro
  • Mask: Cressi Sub - Ocean Eyes
  • Regulator: Tabata / Tusa - RS-860
  • Regulator: Tusa - RS-460II
  • Regulator: Tusa - SS-60
  • BCD: Hollis - SMS100
  • Computer: Suunto - Vyper
  • Light: Tusa - Led TUL-310
  • Other: TECLINE - SMB
  • Camera: GoPro - Hero3 Black
  • Weights: 8 kg
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Dive Profile

  • 1. Air
  • 12L Aluminium     200 → 70 bar
  •  
  • Average depth: m
  • 2. Air
  • 12L Aluminium     200 → 50 bar
  •  
  • Average depth: 26.8m
  • 3. Nitrox 50
  • 7L Aluminium     150 → 10 bar
  • Started at: 31 mins
  •  
  • Average depth: 10.9m
Data provided by EOL.org

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