MV Panagiotis

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title: "MV Panagiotis" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["shipwrecks-in-the-aegean-sea", "1937-ships", "maritime-incidents-in-1980", "zakynthos", "ships-built-on-the-river-clyde"] description: "Cargo ship built in 1937 which is shipwrecked on the sands of a cove in Zakynthos, Greece" topic_path: "general/shipwrecks-in-the-aegean-sea" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Panagiotis" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Cargo ship built in 1937 which is shipwrecked on the sands of a cove in Zakynthos, Greece ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]

Field	Value
infobox_caption	yes
section1	{{Infobox ship/image
image	Panagiotis wreck.jpg
image_caption	Navagio (shipwreck) Bay
section2	{{Infobox ship/career
name	MV Saint Bedan
owner	M. J. & A. Gardner and Co. Ltd
registry	Glasgow United Kingdom
builder	Scott & Sons, Bowling
yard_number	341
launched	14 January 1937
identification
fate	Sold 1964
section3	{{Infobox ship/career
hide_header	title
name	MV Meropi
owner	M. Gigilinis and S. Kakassinas
registry	Flag of Greece.svg Thessaloniki, Greece
acquired	1964
identification
fate	Sold 1966
section4	{{Infobox ship/career
hide_header	title
name	MV Charis
owner	N. S. Kalfas
registry	Flag of Greece.svg Greece
acquired	1966
identification
fate	Sold 1975
section5	{{Infobox ship/career
hide_header	title
name	MV Panagiotis
owner	P. Lisikatos & Company
registry	Flag of Greece.svg Piraeus, Greece
acquired	1975
identification
fate	Ran aground on Zakynthos, 1 October 1980
status	Abandoned on beach
section6	{{Infobox ship/characteristics
type	Coaster
tonnage
length	156.8 ft
beam	25.6 ft
draught	14 ft
power	500 bhp
speed	10 kn
::

|infobox_caption=yes |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=Panagiotis wreck.jpg |image_caption=Navagio (shipwreck) Bay

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |name=MV Saint Bedan |owner=M. J. & A. Gardner and Co. Ltd |registry=Glasgow United Kingdom |builder=Scott & Sons, Bowling |yard_number=341 |launched=14 January 1937 |identification= |fate=Sold 1964

|section3={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=title |name=MV Meropi |owner=M. Gigilinis and S. Kakassinas |registry=Flag of Greece.svg Thessaloniki, Greece |acquired=1964 |identification= |fate=Sold 1966

|section4={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=title |name=MV Charis |owner=N. S. Kalfas |registry=Flag of Greece.svg Greece |acquired=1966 |identification= |fate=Sold 1975

|section5={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=title |name=MV Panagiotis |owner=P. Lisikatos & Company |registry=Flag of Greece.svg Piraeus, Greece |acquired=1975 |identification= |fate=Ran aground on Zakynthos, 1 October 1980 |status=Abandoned on beach

|section6={{Infobox ship/characteristics |type=Coaster |tonnage= |length=156.8 ft |beam=25.6 ft |draught=14 ft |power=500 bhp |speed=10 kn

The Panagiotis () is a shipwreck lying in the white sands of an exposed cove on the coast of Zakynthos, which is among the southernmost of the Ionian Islands of Greece. Navagio ("Shipwreck"), the spot where she lies, is a tourist attraction on the north-western side of the island, with thousands of visitors each year.

She was built in Scotland in 1937 as Saint Bedan and wrecked in 1980.

History

The coaster Panagiotis was built in 1937 at Bowling on the River Clyde in Yard 341 by Scott & Sons, and fitted with a 532 bhp diesel engine made by British Auxiliaries Ltd. When built, she measured 157 feet in length and 26 feet in width. She had a draft of 14 feet, and a gross register tonnage of 452.

The Panagiotis changed hands and names since her construction.

• 1937 - Originally named the MV Saint Bedan, she was launched on Thursday, 14 January 1937 for J. & A. Gardner and Co. Ltd. of Glasgow.
• 1964 - Sold to Greek owners, M. Gigilinis and S. Kakassinas of Thessaloniki and renamed Meropi.
• 1966 - Sold to N. S. Kalfas and renamed Charis.
• 1975 - Sold to P. Lisikatos & Company of Piraeus and renamed Panagiotis.
• 1980 - Beached on the island of Zakynthos, 2 October 1980, and abandoned.

Wreck

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Navagio_Beach_and_Shipwreck_of_the_Panagiotis_at_'Smugglers_Cove'_Zakynthos.JPG" caption="Navagio Beach and shipwreck of the ''Panagiotis''"] ::

Numerous stories exist as to how the vessel became stranded in the cove. A popular story regarding the wreck of the Panagiotis maintains that she spent the latter part of her life as a smuggling ship. In 1980, during a time of record population lows on the island of Zakynthos, Panagiotis was allegedly making its way from Turkey with a freight of contraband cigarettes for the Italian Mafia, as some versions of the story assert. The crew was suspected by authorities, and so the Panagiotis was pursued by the Greek Navy. Encountering stormy weather, the ship ran aground in a shallow cove on the west coast of Zakynthos, to the north of Porto Vromi, where the crew abandoned her to evade the pursuing Navy. This story was backed up when court documents and photos relating to the incident were recently released.

Another story maintained that the ship was carrying legitimate cargo from Argostoli to Durrës in Albania, when the crew were forced to beach her in the cove during a storm on 2 October 1980. When part of the cargo and valuable equipment on the ship was looted, the captain, Charalambos Kompothekras-Kotsoros, alerted the authorities, and 29 locals were convicted of plundering the wreck. Kompothekras-Kotsoros was never charged with any offence.

The wreck remains at the site, which is now called "Navagio", Greek for "shipwreck".

References

References

1. "MV Saint Bedan". Clyde-Built Database.
2. (2017). "Motor Vessel Saint Bedan". [[Clyde-built Ship Database]].
3. Χριστοδούλου, Κωστής. (2017-10-03). "Ναυάγιο Ζακύνθου: 37 χρόνια πριν. Όταν η θάλασσα γέμισε πακέτα από λαθραία τσιγάρα".
4. (2020-06-14). "Η πραγματική ιστορία του Ναυαγίου της Ζακύνθου".
5. (14 December 2016). "How Did The World's Most Famous Shipwreck Come To Be?".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::