MS Logna

MV Island Cement at Bahama Cement Company Loading Dock in 1978
History
Name	Logna
Port of registry	Liverpool UK
Builder	Bergens Mekaniske Verksted Shipyard, Norway
Yard number	435
Launched	6 February 1958[1]
Completed	June 1958
In service	1958-1969
Name	Island Cement
Owner	Bahama Cement Company, GBI
Operator	Bahama Cement Company, GBI
Port of registry	Nassau, Bahamas
Route	Bahamas inter-island and East Coast of Florida
Acquired	1969
In service	1959-1981
Out of service	1982
Fate	Scuttled on 16 October 1982
Status	Artificial reef and recreational dive site
Notes	Current position, Lat: 26.477949 Lng: 78.691635
General characteristics
Class and type	Lloyd's of London
Type	Self discharge, bulk cement carrier
Tonnage	1,444 GRT 1,555 DWT
Length	229 ft (70 m)
Beam	35 ft (11 m)
Draught	15 ft (4.6 m)
Depth	20 ft (6.1 m)
Decks	1
Installed power	GMB 8, 960 BHP
Propulsion	Single, 4-bladed screw 6.75 ft (2.06 m)
Speed	11.75 knots
Crew	British & Bahamian

MV Logna was built as general cargo ship in Bergens Mekaniske Verksted, Shipyard, Norway in 1958. She transported cargo between Norway and Spain until 1969, when she was acquired by the Bahama Cement Company. In 1970, she was converted to a bulk cement carrier and she was renamed MV Island Cement. She was used to ship bulk cement between Freeport, Bahamas, Fort Pierce, Port Canaveral, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and to Eleuthera and New Providence in the Bahamas. In 1980, the Company conducted an underwater survey and determined that it was not economical to perform required repairs. Instead, the ship was decommissioned and the company planned to sell her for scrap.

The company's port engineer and underwater sports enthusiast Theo (Thanassis) Galanopoulos instead persuaded the company to scuttle the ship as a dive site. After several months of preparation with the assistance of local volunteers and the issuance of a permit by the Government of the Bahamas, the MV Island Cement was towed about 1.5 miles off Williamstown, Grand Bahama Island and scuttled on 16 October 1982. The MV Island Cement became the first ship intentionally sunk as artificial reef and recreational dive site in the Bahamas; the site was named "Theo's Wreck"

Theo's Wreck is 229 ft (70 m) long and 10.670 ft (3.252 m) and rests on her port side at depth of 103 ft (31 m) at MLT, and about 50 ft (15 m) feet from the island's continental shelf. It is approximately two miles offshore of Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina. Two buoys mark the location of "Theo's Wreck". Since 1982, the ship has become home to much marine life.

External links

• Dive Buddy
• UK Diver Site Directory
• UNEXSO – Freeport Bahamas
• Theo's Wreck underwater video clip

26°28′17″N 78°41′08″W / 26.47139°N 78.68556°W / 26.47139; -78.68556

This page was last edited on 1 January 2024, at 15:08