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Click on the photo's to enlarge them
The operation:
1997
On the night of May 18, 1994 the
89-foot (27-meter) wooden sailing yacht JASON collided with a
Turkish freighter about 4.5 miles from the coast of the island of
Patmos in the Mediterranean Sea in the south of Greece. On board were a 29-year-old Dutch girl
named Emmy Nijssen with her fiancé Stefanos Letsos (a survivor) and a
Greek boy named Atanasios Valvanis. Both Emmy and Atanasios where
sleeping on the lower deck, and disappeared with the ship beneath the
waves to a depth of 443 feet (135 meters)
From that moment, they became
officially missing and no one knew where the wreck lay exactly, or
whether the stories surrounding the circumstances of the accident were
accurate or true. The Dutch and Greek parents of the
victims searched for assistance for 3 years. Eventually, in January
1997, they approached Metaldec International and asked them to locate
the shipwreck and its two victims, with the goal of bringing the mortal
remains home in order to give them a proper burial.
For this reason, in May 1997, the first
specialized team from Metaldec traveled to Patmos with a large amount of
equipment, among which were side-scan sonar (type KLEIN 595),
magnetometer, ROV (Remoted Operated Vehicle), diving equipment, drop
cameras, etc.
On arrival and mobilization in Greece,
the second team from Metaldec was flown in, together with employees of
the television production company Cameo Media, the producers of the
Dutch TV program called "Heart of the Netherlands" (SBS-6) who joined us
to make a documentary of the whole project. The Metaldec team immediately started
with a survey for the wreck using the side-scan sonar, and after almost
4 days the wreck was located. It stood on its keel, fully intact, with
the masts in an upright position, as shown in the sonar picture on this
page. When the necessary video recordings of
the wreck where taken, preparations where made for a continuation of the
salvage. Then all team members left to the Netherlands.
1998
In
August 1998, team members from Metaldec set off again for Patmos,
with the necessary documents and equipment, with the task of
recovering the bodies of the drowning victims, Emmy Nijssen and
Atanasios Valvanis.
Initially, there was an appeal for divers from England and America who
where specialized in diving with "closed circuit rebreathing system"
equipment, usable up to a depth of 1150 feet (350 meters) with a maximum dive
time of 8 hours. They would enter the wreck at a depth of 443 feet (135
meters) to recover the bodies.
For several reasons this concept became impossible, so the decision was
to lift the whole shipwreck to the surface by using a
sheerlegs with a
huge 36-foot (11-meter) wide grab. Unfortunately, the sheerlegs was
stuck in another country and could not arrive in time.
The search for an alternative solution started and after thorough
consultation with some large salvage companies in the Netherlands, it
was decided to drag the wreck over the very smooth sea floor, which
steadily rose up to a shallow bay on Patmos, and lay it down at a depth
of 65 feet (20 meters), well in range for divers with standard
professional diving equipment to enter the wreck.
It has to be said that dragging a wreck over the sea floor is very
uncommon if not impossible; however in this special case, considering
the low budget and no alternative, it was an option with a chance of
success. The sea floor that the wreck was going to follow on its course
to the bay needed thorough investigation in advance, in order to avoid
or remove obstacles, so a side-scan sonar inspection was carried out
over the whole area to assess the conditions on the sea floor. The
conclusion was that the idea of dragging the wreck could be carried out.
More video recordings of the Jason shipwreck were taken, and a large
towing vessel was rented for 24 hours. At 8.00 in the morning, at the
end of September 1998, a net was stretched around the wreck. The net
measured 660 feet wide and 0.54 nautical miles (1 km) long. The steel
cables on both sides were 2.36 inches (60 mm) thick and could withstand
a weight of about 480 tons.
When the net closed around the wreck, the pulling and partial lifting
started. The underwater weight of the ship was calculated by several
salvage companies at about 10 tons, so this should not be a problem for
the towing vessel or salvage operation. After hours of pulling and
lifting, the wreck was still unable to be moved. The adhesive strength
of the sand around the hull and the weight of the sand in the wreck were
so huge that the steel cables spontaneously snapped. Again and again the
steel net and cables were repaired, only to snap with the next attempt.
What is more, in the evening and night an unexpected storm came up and
lasted for many days, so the salvage operation had to be canceled. On
top of that, the Greek authorities ceased their collaboration, so that a
new attempt became impossible. Everything proved to be in vain, and the
aim of returning the mortal remains of the two children Emmy Nijssen and
Atanasios Valvanis to their parents in order to give them a decent
burial had to be abandoned. The parents had no grave where they could
release their feelings and mourn.
Nevertheless, the case of the two missing children had been solved. The
wreck had been localized up to 10 feet (3 meters) of accuracy, and the
report of the collision appeared to be precise. The families of the
deceased children could begin their healing process. At least they felt
strongly supported by all the efforts and gained some comfort from the
clear video pictures of their children's grave on the sea floor, every
day illuminated by sunlight (very uncommon) and surrounded by numerous fish and
playing dolphins, the place where their
loved ones now rest forever. Our thoughts are always with them.
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Sonar
record at 443 feet
or 135 mtr. depth
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The 89 foot or 27 mtr.
wooden
sailing yacht named JASON still intact
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ROV (Remoted
Operated Vehicle)
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Click on the photo's to enlarge them
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