Calendar CEKOL 2007

In the picturesque region of the Italian Liguria and near Genua, the family hometown of Christopher Columbus, reposes the 300-meter-long vessel, M/T Haven, at a depth of 33-80 meters.

DEEP BLUE AND ITS BEAUTY

The m/t Amoco Milford Haven tanker left the Spanish shipyard Astilleros Espagnoles in 1973. She was the last of the series of four tankers ordered by the Amoco Transport Company of Chicago, and she was registered under the number IMO 707632.
After launching, she sailed under the flag of Liberia. In 1985, the ship was bought by the Haven Maritime Co., and sailed under the Cypriot flag. The Venha Maritime Company from Monrovia became the new owner of the ship in 1990. Before the end of 1991, m/s Haven experienced a few sea adventures. In 1986, she ran aground without any serious consequences near the Indonesian coast.
More spectacular was the attack by an Iranian rocket that set fire to the starboard and the ship ran aground in spite of the fact that the engine was fully operational. There were no casualties among the crew. The tanker was towed to Singapore for repairs.
On the 10th of January 1991, loaded to capacity, m/s Haven left the Persian Gulf and set off for its last voyage. She headed for Genua around the Cape of Good Hope and near the Canary Islands and Cadiz. The tanker waited for unloading in the port roads of Genua from the 8th of March till the 7th  of April 1991. Partly unloaded , she set off again on the 9th of April 1991. The catastrophe came about at 12:30 pm on the 11th of April 1991. The system of filling the cargo tanks with inert gas failed and caused an  explosion. Five members of the crew were killed as a result of the explosion.

SHIPYARD:
Astilleros Espagnoles S.A. Cadiz (Spain)
Launching date: 1973
Length: 334 m
Width: 51 m
Full-load displacement: 267,500 t
Crew: 36 members (5 victims)

JANUARY: It took three days to put the fire out. Thick clouds of smoke went up into the sky and reached a height of hundreds of metres. About twenty kilometres of the coast were polluted with several thousand tons of heavy petroleum that spilled into the seawater.

FEBRUARY: When the catastrophe occurred, the tanks of m/t Haven were filled with 144,255 tons of Iranian crude oil that could have been processed into 40 million litres of automobile fuel.

MARCH: Due to the explosion, a portion of the deck was thrown into the water and sank below the explosion site. During the next few days, the fore deck fell off and settled on the sea bottom at a depth of 460 metres. Eventually, on the 14th of April 1991, m/t Haven fully submerged and lay at a depth of approximately 80 metres. 

APRIL: The shipwreck of m/t Haven was the greatest ecological disaster that has ever happened on the Mediterranean Sea. With time, however, the wreck of the tanker became one of the most exciting diving sites worldwide.

MAY:  The wreck can be penetrated by divers at a depth between 33 and 80 metres. It lies on its keel and is easily accessible for divers to navigate in spite of being 200 metres long and 51 metres wide.

JUNE: During our diving sessions, we focused our attention on creating a photographic documentation of the wreck's outer part. We enjoyed perfect conditions for technical diving operations. For diving and decompression procedures we used breathing gases mixed with helium and pure oxygen.

JULY: Our maximum planned diving depth was 80 metres, while the diving time extended to approx. 110 minutes. At the decompression depths we were assisted by an expert diver from the local diving center.

AUGUST:  The daily backup for our technical diving was provided by the SUB-ABYSSO diving base managed by Ivan and Moira. For that purpose we used a professional diving boat that carried the infantile name of MIKI MOUSE.

SEPTEMBER: The diving conditions during the first three days were excellent. As of  the fourth day, the visibility at depths below 50 metres got much worse and became limited to 4-5 metres at depths of 80 metres, where the screw propeller and the rudder blade were located.

OCTOBER: The water temperature ranged from 18 to 22 degrees Centigrade. Tidal streams of varying strength were felt at decompression depth.

NOVEMBER: There were three members of our diving team: Maciek, Michał and myself - Piotr Pielak. While I was busy taking pictures, Maciek and Michał selected directions for further navigation, keeping an eye on diving times and depth at the same time. Three-person teams seem to be ideal for that type of technical diving.

DECEMBER: We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our families for their understanding and acceptance of our hobby, as well as for their support, without which, this expedition wouldn't have been possible. Special thanks go to Mr. Fabio Ruberti, president of the IANTD Italia, for his assistance in the organization of our diving base. We thank Ivan Lava and Moira Fortugno for their professional support, faultless preparation of gases and protection. We also want to thank our driver.

Piotr Pielak
Maciej Rułka
Michał Szlawski

My very warm thanks go to my diving partners, Maciek and Michał. Without your support and true engagement this calendar wouldn't have ever come into being.

Piotr Pielak

Tłumaczenie tekstu: Jan K. Milencki, Iza Milencka
Korekta: James Gibbs