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{{short description|World War II Liberty ship of the United States}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
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|Ship image= [[File:Alkimos Wreck (Love Perth).jpg|300px|Alkimos as viewed from the shore, August 2012]]
|Ship image=Alkimos Wreck (Love Perth).jpg
|Ship caption=''Alkimos'' as viewed from the shore, August 2012
|Ship caption=''Alkimos'' as viewed from the shore, August 2012
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|Ship country= Norway
|Ship country= Norway
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Norway|naval}}
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Norway|civil}}
|Ship name= ''Viggo Hansteen''
|Ship name= ''Viggo Hansteen''
|Ship namesake=[[Viggo Hansteen]]
|Ship namesake=[[Viggo Hansteen]]
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|Ship builder=Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc., Baltimore<ref name="shipbuildinghistory">{{cite web |url= http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/bethfairfield.htm |title=Bethlehem Fairfield |first=Tim |last=Colton |work=shipbuildinghistory.com |year=2012 |accessdate=13 December 2012}}</ref>
|Ship builder=Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc., Baltimore<ref name="shipbuildinghistory">{{cite web |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/bethfairfield.htm |title=Bethlehem Fairfield |first=Tim |last=Colton |work=shipbuildinghistory.com |year=2012 |access-date=13 December 2012 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510101851/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/bethfairfield.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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|Ship fate= Sold, 1947
|Ship fate= Sold, 1953
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|Ship country=
|Ship country=Greece
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Greece|civil}}
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|Greece|civil}}
|Ship name= ''Alkimos''
|Ship name= ''Alkimos''
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|Ship acquired=1947
|Ship acquired=1953
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|Header caption=(as built<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/liberty/liberty_ship_ec2_s_c1_class_overview.htm |title=MaritimeQuest - Liberty Ship (EC2-S-C1) Class Overview |work=maritimequest.com |year=2008 |accessdate=13 December 2012}}</ref>)
|Header caption=(as built<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/liberty/liberty_ship_ec2_s_c1_class_overview.htm |title=MaritimeQuest - Liberty Ship (EC2-S-C1) Class Overview |work=maritimequest.com |year=2008 |access-date=13 December 2012}}</ref>)
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|Ship type= Type EC2-S-C1 [[liberty ship]]<ref name="shipbuildinghistory"/>
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'''''Alkimos''''' was a [[Greece|Greek]]-owned [[merchant ship]] which was wrecked on the coast north of [[Perth, Western Australia]] in 1963. A nearby locality was later [[Alkimos, Western Australia|named after the vessel]]. The wreck is a popular [[Scuba diving|diving]] venue.
'''''Alkimos''''' was a [[Greece|Greek]]-owned [[merchant ship]] which was wrecked on the coast north of [[Perth, Western Australia]] in 1963. A nearby locality was later [[Alkimos, Western Australia|named after the vessel]]. The wreck is a popular [[Scuba diving|diving]] venue.


== History ==
== History ==
The ship was built during [[World War II]] by [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards]] in [[Baltimore]] as part of the [[United States]]' [[Liberty ship]] program and was originally scheduled to be named ''George M. Shriver''. It was launched on October 11, 1943.<ref name="warsailors">{{cite web |url= http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/viggohansteen.html |title=D/S Viggo Hansteen - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 |work=warsailors.com |year=2012 |accessdate=13 December 2012}}</ref> However, on October 20, the vessel was reassigned to the [[Nortraship|Norwegian Shipping & Trade Mission]], was re-christened ''Viggo Hansteen''.<ref name="warsailors"/> and saw war service for about 18 months, primarily in the Mediterranean and was crewed by mariners of various nationalities. It served as a [[troopship]] and transported cargo, in [[convoy]]s that were sometimes attacked by [[Nazi Germany|German]] aircraft and [[U-boat]]s.
The ship was built during [[World War II]] by [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards]] in [[Baltimore]] as part of the [[United States]]' [[Liberty ship]] program and was originally scheduled to be named ''George M. Shriver''. It is said to be haunted after several workers were unintentionally trapped in riveted-up compartments aboard the ship. These unfortunate workers were found a day after, suffocating to their deaths in these sealed areas. {{citation needed|date=October 2021}} It was launched on 11 October 1943.<ref name="warsailors">{{cite web |url= http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/viggohansteen.html |title=D/S Viggo Hansteen - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945 |work=warsailors.com |year=2012 |access-date=13 December 2012}}</ref> However, on 20 October, the vessel was reassigned to the [[Nortraship|Norwegian Shipping & Trade Mission]], was re-christened '''''Viggo Hansteen'''''.<ref name="warsailors"/> and saw war service for about 18 months, primarily in the Mediterranean and was crewed by mariners of various nationalities. It served as a [[troopship]] and transported cargo, in [[convoy]]s that were sometimes attacked by [[Nazi Germany|German]] aircraft and [[U-boat]]s.


A [[murder-suicide]] took place on board ''Viggo Hansteen'' in August 1944, while the ship was at [[Naples]] (some sources say [[Piombino]]);<ref name="warsailors"/> [[Canada|Canadian]] radio operator Maude Steane is reported to have been shot by another crew member, who then killed himself.
A [[murder-suicide]] took place on board ''Viggo Hansteen'' in August 1944, while the ship was at [[Naples]] (some sources say [[Piombino]]);<ref name="warsailors"/> [[Canada|Canadian]] radio operator Maude Steane is reported to have been shot by another crew member in his cabin, who then killed himself.


At 2.30 am on 24 April 1952, the ''Viggo Hansteen'' while on a voyage from London, via Panama, to Port Chalmers and Wellington with new British cars and bagged cement ran aground two miles northeast of the [[Katiki Point Lighthouse]] near Moeraki.<ref>{{cite book |last= McLean |first= Gavin |title= 'Moeraki: 150 years of net and plough share |location= Dunedin, NZ |publisher= Otago Heritage Books |date= 1986 |pages= 74, 75 |isbn= 0-9597723-3-2}}</ref> The Port Chalmers-based tug ''Dunedin'' was dispatched to the scene and by 3.16 pm the tug had refloated the vessel which was only slightly damaged and escorted it to port.<ref name= ODT1>{{Citation |last= Wright |first= Doug |title= On the waterfront: Ship grounds off Moeraki on Anzac Day, 1952 |newspaper= Otago Daily Times |date= April 23, 2012 |url= https://www.odt.co.nz/business/waterfront-ship-grounds-moeraki-anzac-day-1952|accessdate= February 10, 2021}}</ref>
⚫
After the war it was sold to a [[Greece|Greek]] shipping company and renamed ''Alkimos'', after a word meaning "strong" and a [[Greek gods|Greek god]], [[Alcumus|Álkimos]].


⚫
The vessel was sold in 1953 to [[Greece|Greek]] owned Faros Shipping, of London who renamed it ''Alkimos'', after a word meaning "strong" and a [[Greek gods|Greek god]], [[Alcumus|Álkimos]]. The ship operated under the flag of Panama until 1959 when it was transferred to Greek registry.<ref name=ODT1/>
As ''Alkimos'', the ship plied the world's oceans for some two decades. In March 1963, the vessel was on a voyage from [[Jakarta]] to [[Bunbury, Western Australia|Bunbury]] when it struck a [[reef]] on the 19 March 1963 near Beagle Island off the Western Australian coast. It was salvaged and towed to [[Fremantle]], the port city for [[Perth, Western Australia]], where it underwent repairs for two months. After settlement of a dispute concerning payment for the repairs, the ''Alkimos'' left Fremantle under tow by an ocean-going tug, the ''Pacific Reserve'' from [[Hong Kong]].


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== Loss ==
⚫
Only a few hours out of port, on 31 May 1963, the tow line gave way and the ''Alkimos'' was driven onto the shore. Although the ship remained intact, it could not be floated off at that time, and so it was filled with water to secure it in place and left in the charge of an on-board caretaker. Another tug, the ''Pacific Star'', under command of Captain E.R. Francisco, returned in January 1964 and the ship was refloated on 14 February 1964, but the planned journey to [[Manila]] had hardly begun when the tug was seized on 21 February 1964 at sea by authorities and the ''Alkimos'' was left anchored. On 2nd May 1964, the vessel broke anchor and was driven onto the Eglinton Rocks near present-day [[Yanchep, Western Australia]]. On this occasion it was more severely damaged, and all thought of salvaging it intact was abandoned.
The vessel was on a voyage from [[Jakarta]] to [[Bunbury, Western Australia|Bunbury]] when, on 20 March 1963, it struck a [[reef]] off the [[Beagle Islands (Western Australia)|Beagle Islands]], 8&nbsp;km from the Western Australian coast, near [[Eneabba]]. It was salvaged and towed to [[Fremantle]], the port city for [[Perth, Western Australia]], where it underwent repairs for two months.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alkimos Ship Wreck |url=https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/public/inventory/printsinglerecord/2c89b578-cdfc-4a15-9017-1adb59afd0ab |website=InHerit |publisher=National Trust of Western Australia |access-date=22 January 2024 |location=Perth, WA |date=13 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="roe">{{cite journal |last1=Roe |first1=Phillip |title=Ghostwriting: The Alkimos and its Ghosts |journal=Transformations |date= December 2005 |issue=12 |publisher=University of Queensland |url=https://www.transformationsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Roe_Transformations12.pdf |access-date=22 January 2024 |issn=1444-3775}}</ref>


After the settlement of a dispute concerning payment for the repairs, ''Alkimos'' left Fremantle under tow by an ocean-going tug, ''Pacific Reserve'' from [[Hong Kong]]. Only a few hours out of port, on 31 May 1963, the tow line gave way and ''Alkimos'' was driven onto the shore. Although the ship remained intact, it could not be floated off at that time, and so it was filled with water to secure it in place and left in the charge of an on-board caretaker.
⚫
It was later sold by the owners for scrap. However, in 1969, salvage workers were driven off the wreck by a fire. After that time, the partly dismantled remains of the ship sat in several metres of water, visible to visitors, before gradually disintegrating.

⚫
Another tug, ''Pacific Star'', under command of Captain E.R. Francisco, returned in January 1964 and the ship was refloated on 14 February, but the planned journey to [[Manila]] had hardly begun when the tug was seized a week later at sea by authorities and ''Alkimos'' was left anchored. On 2 May, the vessel broke anchor and was driven onto the Eglinton Rocks at present-day [[Alkimos, Western Australia|Alkimos]]. On this occasion it was more severely damaged, and all thought of salvaging it intact was abandoned.

⚫
It was later sold by the owners for scrap. However, in 1969, salvage workers were driven off the wreck by a fire, and each time they returned, the fire started again.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} After that time, the partly dismantled remains of the ship sat in several metres of water, visible to visitors, before gradually disintegrating.


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
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==References==
==References==
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*''[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|The Sunday Times]] Magazine'' (Perth), 19 March 2006, p.&nbsp;14
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=== Print ===
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* [http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2003/s1000949.htm ABC Television program ''Stateline'' (Transcript)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040825175058/http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2003/s1000949.htm |date=25 August 2004 }}
⚫
*''[[Sunday Times]] Magazine'' (Perth), 19 March 2006, p.&nbsp;14
⚫
* [http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/collections/maritime/march/shipwrecks/Wanneroo_Shipwrecks/Wanneroo.html Shipwrecks of the Wanneroo Coast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819054415/http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/collections/maritime/march/shipwrecks/Wanneroo_Shipwrecks/Wanneroo.html |date=19 August 2006 }}

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* [http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/HC9782-001.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=2AC75F6FAA20674C113B794B2BE98AFF5671D309F6815D3249207362A3F24453 Photo of the Alkimos in 1969] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727163107/http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/HC9782-001.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=2AC75F6FAA20674C113B794B2BE98AFF5671D309F6815D3249207362A3F24453 |date=27 July 2011 }}
=== >
⚫
* [http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2003/s1000949.htm ABC Television program ''Stateline'' (Transcript)]
* [http://www.mindive.com/alkimos.htm Diving company notice about the ''Alkimos'']
⚫
* [http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/collections/maritime/march/shipwrecks/Wanneroo_Shipwrecks/Wanneroo.html Shipwrecks of the Wanneroo Coast]
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* [http://cache1.asset-cache.net/xc/HC9782-001.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=2AC75F6FAA20674C113B794B2BE98AFF5671D309F6815D3249207362A3F24453 Photo of the Alkimos in 1969]


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://maps.google.com.au/?ie=UTF8&ll=-31.610361,115.653897&spn=0.003362,0.006974&t=h&z=18 GoogleMaps location and image of the Alkimos Wreck]
* [http://maps.google.com.au/?ie=UTF8&ll=-31.610361,115.653897&spn=0.003362,0.006974&t=h&z=18 GoogleMaps location and image of the Alkimos Wreck]


{{Liberty ships G}}
{{1963 shipwrecks}}
{{1963 shipwrecks}}
{{1964 shipwrecks}}
{{1964 shipwrecks}}

{{Coord|31|36|38|S|115|39|13|E|region:AU_type:city|display=title}}
{{Coord|31|36|38|S|115|39|13|E|region:AU_type:city|display=title}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Alkimos (1943)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alkimos (1943)}}
[[Category:Liberty ships]]
[[Category:Liberty ships]]
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[[Category:Freighters]]
[[Category:Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland]]
[[Category:Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland]]
[[Category:Ships of Nortraship]]
[[Category:Ships of Nortraship]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Greece]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of Greece]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1963]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1963]]
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[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States]]
[[Category:Steamships of Norway]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Norway]]
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[[Category:Ghost ships]]

Latest revision as of 16:25, 1 June 2024

Alkimos as viewed from the shore, August 2012
History
Norway
NameViggo Hansteen
NamesakeViggo Hansteen
OwnerU.S. War Shipping Administration
OperatorNortraship
BuilderBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc., Baltimore[1]
Laid down18 September 1943[1]
Launched11 October 1943[1]
Acquired18 October 1943[1]
In service21 October 1943
FateSold, 1953
Greece
NameAlkimos
OwnerAlkimos Shipping Company
Acquired1953
FateWrecked, May 1964
General characteristics (as built[2])
TypeType EC2-S-C1 liberty ship[1]
Tonnage
Displacement14,245 long tons (14,474 t)
Length441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam57 ft (17 m)
Draft27 ft 8 in (8.43 m) (full)
Propulsion
  • 2 oil-fired boilers
  • Three cylinder triple expansion steam engine
  • 2,500 hp (1,864 kW)
  • 1 screw
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Range17,000 nmi (31,000 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Crew41

Alkimos was a Greek-owned merchant ship which was wrecked on the coast north of Perth, Western Australia in 1963. A nearby locality was later named after the vessel. The wreck is a popular diving venue.

History

[edit]

The ship was built during World War II by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards in Baltimore as part of the United States' Liberty ship program and was originally scheduled to be named George M. Shriver. It is said to be haunted after several workers were unintentionally trapped in riveted-up compartments aboard the ship. These unfortunate workers were found a day after, suffocating to their deaths in these sealed areas. [citation needed] It was launched on 11 October 1943.[3] However, on 20 October, the vessel was reassigned to the Norwegian Shipping & Trade Mission, was re-christened Viggo Hansteen.[3] and saw war service for about 18 months, primarily in the Mediterranean and was crewed by mariners of various nationalities. It served as a troopship and transported cargo, in convoys that were sometimes attacked by German aircraft and U-boats.

A murder-suicide took place on board Viggo Hansteen in August 1944, while the ship was at Naples (some sources say Piombino);[3] Canadian radio operator Maude Steane is reported to have been shot by another crew member in his cabin, who then killed himself.

At 2.30 am on 24 April 1952, the Viggo Hansteen while on a voyage from London, via Panama, to Port Chalmers and Wellington with new British cars and bagged cement ran aground two miles northeast of the Katiki Point Lighthouse near Moeraki.[4] The Port Chalmers-based tug Dunedin was dispatched to the scene and by 3.16 pm the tug had refloated the vessel which was only slightly damaged and escorted it to port.[5]

The vessel was sold in 1953 to Greek owned Faros Shipping, of London who renamed it Alkimos, after a word meaning "strong" and a Greek god, Álkimos. The ship operated under the flag of Panama until 1959 when it was transferred to Greek registry.[5]

Loss

[edit]

The vessel was on a voyage from Jakarta to Bunbury when, on 20 March 1963, it struck a reef off the Beagle Islands, 8 km from the Western Australian coast, near Eneabba. It was salvaged and towed to Fremantle, the port city for Perth, Western Australia, where it underwent repairs for two months.[6][7]

After the settlement of a dispute concerning payment for the repairs, Alkimos left Fremantle under tow by an ocean-going tug, Pacific Reserve from Hong Kong. Only a few hours out of port, on 31 May 1963, the tow line gave way and Alkimos was driven onto the shore. Although the ship remained intact, it could not be floated off at that time, and so it was filled with water to secure it in place and left in the charge of an on-board caretaker.

Another tug, Pacific Star, under command of Captain E.R. Francisco, returned in January 1964 and the ship was refloated on 14 February, but the planned journey to Manila had hardly begun when the tug was seized a week later at sea by authorities and Alkimos was left anchored. On 2 May, the vessel broke anchor and was driven onto the Eglinton Rocks at present-day Alkimos. On this occasion it was more severely damaged, and all thought of salvaging it intact was abandoned.

It was later sold by the owners for scrap. However, in 1969, salvage workers were driven off the wreck by a fire, and each time they returned, the fire started again.[citation needed] After that time, the partly dismantled remains of the ship sat in several metres of water, visible to visitors, before gradually disintegrating.

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Colton, Tim (2012). "Bethlehem Fairfield". shipbuildinghistory.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  2. ^ "MaritimeQuest - Liberty Ship (EC2-S-C1) Class Overview". maritimequest.com. 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "D/S Viggo Hansteen - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945". warsailors.com. 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  4. ^ McLean, Gavin (1986). 'Moeraki: 150 years of net and plough share. Dunedin, NZ: Otago Heritage Books. pp. 74, 75. ISBN 0-9597723-3-2.
  5. ^ a b Wright, Doug (23 April 2012), "On the waterfront: Ship grounds off Moeraki on Anzac Day, 1952", Otago Daily Times, retrieved 10 February 2021
  6. ^ "Alkimos Ship Wreck". InHerit. Perth, WA: National Trust of Western Australia. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  7. ^ Roe, Phillip (December 2005). "Ghostwriting: The Alkimos and its Ghosts" (PDF). Transformations (12). University of Queensland. ISSN 1444-3775. Retrieved 22 January 2024.

References

[edit]
[edit]

31°36′38″S 115°39′13″E / 31.61056°S 115.65361°E / -31.61056; 115.65361

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