The Greek Ship

On the western side of the island a gigantic ship has taken up residence on Kish’s azure shores, known as the Greek Ship. On a hot summer day in 1966, the islanders of Kish suddenly saw a huge vessel aground near the village of Baghu. Even after years the reason for the ship running aground remains shrouded in mystery, but it is said the foggy conditions and the absence of a lighthouse on Kish’s coasts caused the incident.
This ship was built in 1943 by the William Hamilton company, weighing 7,061 tons and measuring 136 meters in length, at the port of Glasgow in Scotland, and on 26 July 1966 while returning from Iran on a voyage to Greece she ran aground on Kish Island. Eighty days of effort by the Dutch tug Orinoco to pull the ship free bore no fruit. Many unsuccessful attempts were made to salvage her and the crew were forced to abandon ship and unload her cargo, since salvage operations were not economically viable. Information obtained from Lloyd’s insurance company in London indicates that at the time she ran aground the ship belonged to Greece and was named Kolaaf. The ship was originally “Emperor’s Trumpet,” then “Naturalist,” and between 1959 and the year before her stranding she sailed under the ownership of Iran Shipping Lines with the names “Sirus Fars” and “Hamedan.”
The Greek Ship has little historical significance and importance, and the passage of time has worn her down. The lower part of the ship that is in the water has decayed from the impact of the sea waves and could collapse at any moment.
Watching the sun slowly set behind the Greek Ship over the azure waters of the Persian Gulf is an unforgettable and eternal memory. The glow of the sun’s last rays across the sky, the spectrum of yellow, red and orange hues and the chiaroscuro of small and large cloud patches create such a beautiful and dreamlike tableau behind the Greek Ship that its like is rarely seen.
The Greek Ship Coastal Park, on land covering 60,000 square meters with facilities such as an amphitheater, cafeteria, Iranian and Lebanese restaurants, snack stalls, rental stations for skates and bicycles, and outlets selling sporting goods, is under construction around the Greek Ship.