TODAY is the 40th anniversary of the sinking of a River Clyde landmark which has become known simply as ‘the sugar ship’.

It was on the morning of 28 January 1974 that the MV Captayannis keeled over and capsized on a sandbank midway between Greenock and Helensburgh.

She has lain there ever since, not considered a hazard to navigation and unable to be removed because of a wrangle between the owners and insurers.

The ship’s troubles had started the night before during a fierce storm.

She had anchored at the Tail of the Bank with a cargo of sugar from Lourenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa, and was waiting for high tide to offload it at the James Watt Dock sugar terminal for processing at Tate & Lyle’s Westburn Refinery.

But the weather suddenly deteriorated and a severe gale hit the west coast, with winds of more than 60 miles an hour.

The Captayannis began to drag anchor, and Captain Theodorakis Ionnis ordered the engine to be started, intending to make for the more sheltered waters of the Gare Loch.

Also anchored at the Tail of the Bank, however, was the 36,754 ton BP tanker British Light, recently arrived from Elderslie dry dock.

Before Captayannis could power-up, the gale blew her towards the tanker, and, although the two vessels didn’t touch, the tanker’s anchor chain ripped through the passing Captayannis’s hull.

Seawater immediately started pouring in, and the pumps couldn’t cope.

The captain made for the sandbank to try to ground his ship, but, when he reached it, the profile of the hull meant the vessel wasn’t stable and began to heel over to port.

This resulted in all power being lost, and Captayannis eventually settled port side down on the sandbank.

The crew were rescued without injury by the tug Labrador and the MV Rover of Clyde Marine Service.

Twenty-five leaped off the Captayannis on to the decks of the Rover and were taken ashore while Captain Ionnis and four others waited on board the tug as it stood off for a time.

The cargo of raw sugar disappeared into the water never to be seen again.

Man saw ship keeling over A GREENOCK man actually saw Captayannis keeling over. The man, who asked not to be named, still lives in the same home overlooking the Clyde as he did that morning 40 years ago. He recalled: “It was just after eight o’clock that morning when my nine-year-old son pulled aside his bedroom curtains and called out excitedly: ‘Daddy, come quick — there’s a ship sinking!’ I looked out and, sure enough, there in the middle of the Clyde was a vessel lying at a very peculiar angle — it was the Captayannis just before she capsized. It was quite a shock. I still look out every day and the Captayannis is still in the same place after all that time. Greenock and Port Glasgow have a proud marine history. Many from the area have been to sea so have a deep understanding of how the shipwrecked crew must have felt. The Tail of the Bank can be a difficult place to find safe and secure anchorage, but the price for not doing so can be great.” Captayannis still visible today THE Captayannis can be seen from most towns and villages on the upper Firth of Clyde. It’s now a haven for seabirds and fish and can be seen on satellite images. Built by A/S Nakskov Skibbs of Denmark, and launched in September 1946 as Norden, the ship was 4,576 gross tons, 126 metres in length and powered by a B & W 6 cylinder engine of 2,300 bhp. Sold in 1963 to M & S J Paleocrassas Bros of Piraeus, Greece, the ship was renamed Captayannis. Although the wreck lies in relatively shallow water, there has never been any attempt to salvage the remains, which are slowly rusting away. About eight metres of the hull lie below sea level, with the starboard side about four metres above. The structure has been stripped of all its fittings by looters, and it is a well known attraction for divers. Plans to have her blown up were shelved, as there were fears about damage to the nearby Ardmore Point bird sanctuary.