It is estimated that tens of thousands of shipwrecks lie undiscovered throughout the Mediterranean. In recent years some exciting discoveries of early Greek trade vessels of great archaeological importance have been made by sport divers. More often these ancient ships are found in shallower waters unlike those of the Ionian Sea that surrounds Zakynthos. Abyssal depths of reach over 4,900 metres (16,000 ft.) and plummet off the western side of the island. That said, Zakynthos is the final resting place for the best known and most photographed shipwreck in Greece, albeit a modern misfortune.

In part, it was these very waters; made all the more treacherous with strong undercurrents that brought about the demise of the now infamous freighter the’ Panayiotis’ in 1980.

Sheer-drop cliffs form a striking backdrop to the rust-ridden carcass of the Panayiotis that takes centre stage on a picturesque cove just north of Porta Vromi. Every year hordes of onlookers are drawn to witness for themselves the iconic image of Zakynthos regularly featured in every holiday brochure. For U.K. sightseers there is a degree of irony as the ship was originally built in Scotland on the banks of river Clyde, Glasgow.

Launched from Scott’s yard, at Bowling on Clydeside in 1937, the ship was christened St. Bedan. It had been commissioned by J & A Gardner and was built to trade cargo specifically in shallow waters. Twenty seven years later in 1964 she was sold to Greek owners who renamed her ‘Meropi’. According to seafaring superstition it is thought unlucky to rename a ship and, some would say this marked the untimely beginning of the end for the Scottish lassie who, would go on to be renamed ‘Charis’ in 1966 and a final name change to ‘Panayiotis’ in 1975 by her new owners from Piraeus.

Purportedly, the Panayiotis eventually fell into the hands of the Italian Mafia running contraband cigarettes from Turkey. The Greek Navy had the freighter under surveillance and gave chase. Attempting to outrun the navy the plan was thwarted when a violent storm erupted and the forces of nature took hold of the ship, she ran aground on a stormy October day in 1980. The crew spent some days marooned on the shingle cove until the storm abated and it was safe to rescue them, though the authorities chose to leave the ship. Providence indeed for the many local enterprises it has spawned; a plethora of signs flag-up eateries, goods for sale and boats for hire while coach trips wheel daily to the once remote side of the island. The cove is firmly ‘on-the-map’ and has also gained another name; now the locals simply call it ‘Navagio’, the Greek word for shipwreck.

Not surprisingly there are a number of lesser known shipwrecks scattered around this islands seabed. On September 12th 1916, the Panayiotis Kathustos sailing from Crete to Piraeus, laden with a cargo of exotic fruit was torpedoed by an Austrian submarine and sank to the south of Zakynthos. The nine crew members abandoned ship and reached the safety of Keri.

On a bright April day in 1930 an Italian steamship called ‘Fredrico Carrola’ built in 1889 sunk in the straits between Zakynthos and Kefalonia following an explosion in the engine room. Of the thirty three passengers only a lucky thirteen survived.

Villagers in Volimes reported the sound of a loud blast on the night of November 17th 1943. It transpired that a large fishing boat named St. Friday and captained by Ionis Matzoukis heading out from Zakynthos for Kefalonia had sailed into a mine killing all on board. Their bodies and belongings were gradually washed ashore around the cape of Skinari. The following year a cargo ship St. Nicolas, met a similar fate when it set sail from Patra carrying a mix of passengers and goods bound for Zakynthos. All perished when the vessel hit another mine. On 15th May 1946, a fishing boat also called St. Nicolas vanished without trace after hitting a mine offshore from the town’s port of Saint Nicolas.

A year later on 29th January, winter winds forced another fatefully named St. Nicolas freighter to return to Zakynthos. It’s cargo of oil and ceramic tiles were the only losses when it ran aground on the rocky reefs at Skinari.