In August 1981 the Chrisoula K, loaded with a cargo of Italian floor tiles, departed for Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). On board was Stephan Jablonski. Since his survival of the sinking of the Marcus in 1978, he had survived the ELPHINKI K and the VIKI K sinking too, all interconnected through a web of holding companies in the shadowy world of Greek shipping. Stephan reported that an unscheduled stop was made at Seracuse where cargo was unloaded, before continuing the journey through the Suez canal. He was shortly to experience his 4th premature departure from a Greek vessel. "During my next shift I was working in the generator room when suddenly the ship ground to a halt and there was that now familiar sound of twisting, screaming metal. I ran up onto deck and thought I was dreaming - there was that island and again, there was the same reef in front of us. We were still afloat but held fast by the bow and the swell was pushing the ship deeper into the reef. Although it didn't seem as though we were sinking we were ordered into the boats. Again we were rescued by a passing ship with the Egyptian navy in attendance". STEPHAN JALONSKI

A tale of two Bows...
There is controversy over the identity of 'the tile wreck' - is it the wreck of the Marcus or the Chrisoula K? Both ships wrecked in the exact same location, both were carrying a cargo of Italian tiles and both ships looked very similar. We firmly believe that 'the tile wreck' is the MARCUS.