around 250 meters to the east of the ‘wreck of the tiles’, at the north-eastern point of Abu Nuhas. Its name is based on the cargo of the shipwrecked here, comprising 4,500 tonnes of these pulses. The wreck was falsely identified as the ‘Seastar’ or the ‘Olden’, but is, in reality, the Kimon M., a cargo ship coming from Suez, which was stranded on the reef in 1978. The vessel was built in Germany in 1952 at the Stricken & Sohn shipyards and was originally named ‘Bruns
büttel and then ‘Ciudad de Cucuta’, followed by ‘Angela’. It was 106.4 meters long and 6.8 meters wide with a tonnage of 3,714 and equipped with an 8-cylinder diesel engine. At the
KIMON M. Type of ship: cargo Nationality: German Year of construction: 1952 Length: 106.4 m Width: 6.8 m Tonnage: 3,714 t Date of shipwreck:
12th December 1978 Depth: 4-32 m
time of the shipwreck, the vessel – renamed Kimon M. – belonged to the Greek-Panama company Janissios Shipping. The Kimon M. had left the Turkish harbour of Iskandarun where it had loaded its cargo of lentils bound for Bombay. It hit the north-eastern point of the reef at Abu Nuhas on the 12th December 1978 whilst navigating at full speed. The crew were rescued thanks to the intervention of the vessel Interasia cruising nearby. For a long time, the bow of the Kimon M. was visible on the reef and was a precious
the warning signal for vessels passing by. The remainder of the hull sank slowly down the plateau and now rests on its starboard side with the stern on the sandy bottom at a depth of 32 meters. Today, the first hold is situated at 16 meters whereas the bow mast is on the reef only 4 meters deep together with numerous pieces and the massive anchor. Start the dive at the stern, still
intact with its propeller and the rudder. Then proceed along the port side of the ship to observe the entries of the holds with the winches often surrounded by schools of anthias. Turn to the bow area, completely destroyed, where you can see the anchor. The ship has become unstable and thus the exploration of its holds might be dangerous and should be avoided.
Features • The enormous engine room is particularly interesting. • Rich in reef fauna. • Impressive colonization of hard and soft corals. • A great number of Alcyonarians grow along with the metal cables.
Comments. It is possible to reach the Kimon M., starting from the ‘wreck of the tiles’ or Marcus, by finning eastwards. Current and poor visibility possible. In case of the rough sea, it is practically impossible to dive as the wreck is situated at the extreme eastern point of the reef.
