Paphos shipwreck earmarked for marine tourism

Bejay Browne -

The Honduran-flagged Demetrios II which ran aground on rocks close to the Paphos village of Chlorakas in stormy seas on March 23, 1998, looks set to become the latest project to attract marine tourism.

The Diving Association, the Paphos regional board of tourism and Paphos municipality are all backing the idea. It is hoped that state funding will be approved to scuttle the ship, which was built in 1964 in Hamburg, and create an attraction for divers from all over the world.

The idea was first suggested five years ago by the Cyprus Dive Centre Association. “We came up with the idea a while ago now and we need to move swiftly in order to sink the ship. These sorts of projects have proved very successful in other countries and it will help to develop the infrastructure of diving tourism in Cyprus,” the vice president of the association, Photos Socratous, told the Sunday Mail.

Socratous is speaking from experience. The wreck of the Zenobia, the Swedish built roll-on, roll-off ferry which sank off Larnaca on her maiden voyage in June 1980, has become a major diving tourist attraction. Resting on her port side in approximately 42 metres of water, the Zenobia attracts divers from all over the world and has been named as one of the top ten wreck diving sites in the world. More recently, the House of Representatives discussed plans to promote marine tourism in Cyprus by replenishing marine life in areas where it is low or dying out, and encouraging greater use of diving sites such as wrecks.

The tourist manager of the Paphos regional board of tourism, Nassos Hadjigeorgiou, said the department of fisheries and other departments are hoping that an environmental and a topographic study will be undertaken to find the best position to place the ship on the seabed.

As the ship measures approximately 60 metres in length and weighs more than 900 tonnes, this could prove quite a feat.

He said a meeting is planned for the end of the month with the ministry of agriculture.

“We will then request an experienced overseas company to undertake the project and place the ship on the bottom of the sea, close to where it is now.’

Hadjigeorgiou says that all of the preliminary studies have shown that the position chosen is convenient, easily accessible and that the underwater environment is good.

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