Medy

The ship's first name was Lago Victoria. It was built in 1982 at the Astilleros de Huelva S.A. shipyard, under a loan from BCI, for Naviera Lagos¹⁾. It was the second ship of Naviera Lagos bearing the name Lago Victoria. The flag of the ship was Spanish.

Designed as a multicellular container, its construction was significantly delayed due to the labour situation at the shipyard. The keel was laid as number 100, on August 29, 1978. The ship was launched on November 7th, 1980, and it entered service on May 19, 1982, under the command of captain Martin José A. Díez. It was powered by a Bazan-MAN 12V40/54A engine, manufactured in the workshops of the National Company Bazan, in Cartagena (Murcia),with a power of 5000hp and a maximum speed of 17 knots. It could carry 228 TEUs and it was basically an improved version of ship design type Darro.

In 1986, Naviera Lagos was acquired by Naviera Pinillos. The ship's name was changed into Duero on April 2nd, 1986.

In 1998, Naviera Pinillos is acquired by Grupo Boluda, and the ship was renamed Charo B on July 6, 1998. Between 2002 and 2004, the ship was moored in the port of Burriana, sitting unused, as the company had purchased more higher capacity, second hand, ships.

Between 17 February 2004 and January 25, 2007 the vessel was owned by Spring Breeze Shipping, and sailed under Maltese flag, bearing the name Med Breeze.

On August 30, 2006, the ship was detained one day in the Italian port of Catania, for 6 deficiencies, out of which 2 were grounds for detention (bulkhead between the engine room and cargo hold no. 3 cut and equipped with not permanently sealed open door, and leaking fuel from high pressure lines).

On January 26, 2007, the ship was purchased by Mehtap Denizcilik Sanayi, and it was renamed Medy. Between March 30, 2009 and April 3, 2009, the ship was detained in the Constanta harbour for the following deficiencies:

• 0746 - FIRE SAFETY MEASURES - jacketed piping system for high pressure fuel lines
• 0610 - LIFESAVING APPLIANCES - lifeboats
• 0945 - STABILITY, STRUCTURE AND RELATED EQUIPMENT - emergency lighting, batteries and switches
• 2540 - ISM RELATED DEFICIENCIES - emergency preparedness

Medy arrived in the Constanta harbour, at the Schenker Romtrans mooring, on August 29th, 2010. There, it loaded 3247 tons of scrap iron. According to official documents, the iron was correctly loaded in the cargo holds. Some other sources have indicated that the ship had a 15 degrees list to port, which the captain, Turk Gurol, has indicated he will adjust on the way, with the help of the ballast tanks.

On the early morning of September 1st, at 02:00, the vessel left Constanta harbour, en route to Istanbul. The weather started to get worse, with strong winds and bigger waves, making the ship to heel towards port side.

At 4:45 AM the captain informed the Romanian Naval Authority that they are unable to keep the ship upright and they will abandon it. In just 16 minutes, the rescue ships Topaz and Cristal, belonging to ARSVOM, arrived near the sinking ship. The tug boat GSP Orion, which was nearby, arrived even faster, and had already rescued the crew. The sailors were taken to the Constanta harbour, where they arrived at 7:20.

Between 9:30 and 10:00, the tug boat Hercules, assisted by Topaz and Cristal, tried to save the ship, which was already listing 25 degrees to port. Meanwhile, the weather had deteriorated further, reaching 4-5 on Beaufort scale. Two divers managed to board the ship at 10:50, trying to tie it to the tug boat. At 12:00 the ship was heeling 37-40 degrees to port, waves reaching the deck. At 12:50 the ship went down.

On September 9, 2010, two divers - Dumitru Cristian Zarafu and Catalin Valeriu Ispas -, working for SC Hunter’s Company SRL, owned by Jorj Unciuleanu, have tried to inspect the interior of the ship. Badly equipped and not properly trained for penetration wreck diving, the two divers drowned inside. Their bodies were recovered on December 13, 2010 (Ispas) and December 23, 2010 (Zarafu), by the commercial divers of the Turkish company Aras, who have investigated the wreck at the request of the insurance company, as fraud was suspected in relationship with the unexplained sinking.

Medy lies in one piece on the bottom, heeling 90 degrees to the port side. The starboard side is at a depth of approximately 22 meters, while on the sand the depth reaches 36-37 meters.