9.
Teriberka graveyard This abandoned location used to be a thriving
fishing community and is now known for its rusty remnants!
The village of Teriberka in Russia is famous to audiences worldwide, thanks to it featuring
in the 2014 film Leviathan.
That movie was nominated for an Oscar.
Situated on the coast of the Barents Sea, Teriberka features a striking and creepy “graveyard”
made up of boats that people just didn’t need anymore.
Buildings and houses were left behind as the population shrank.
Thousands of people used to call this place home.
Today it has the dubious honor of being the most well known Russian village on Instagram.
After the fall of communism in the 1980s, much like many other areas in the former Soviet
Union, the once thriving fishing village began to deteriorate.
Tourism is now the primary economic driver of the area.
Tourists are reportedly keen to see the abandoned vessels for themselves and take snaps for
social media.
You’ll also find outsiders arriving to check out the place for other reasons.
One of these is Teriberka’s access to the famed Northern Lights.
The place is pretty dead we guess, but still manages to come to life thanks to that and
attractions such as the ships’ graveyard.
Teriberka isn’t the ideal tourism destination for everyone.
If you’re not put off by the semi-abandoned village’s limited accommodations, you can
check out this fascinating abandoned place.
Grim but compelling stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree!
8.
BOS 400, Cape Town This is a shipwreck with a bit of a twist.
You see, it’s also a crane.
Yes you heard that right.
A whole crane actually washed up near Hout Bay, which is a South African suburb.
Sounds unlikely but it happened.
How?
Well, the crane is attached to a barge, which itself was part of an oil rig.
Check out that platform there, which is angled precariously over the water and rocks.
Giving us vertigo just looking at it.
Belonging to the French, the BOS 400 was in the process of being towed away in 1994.
The boat dragging the massive oil rig was not strong enough to manage the task, and
as a result the rope broke and it then ran aground.
There it stayed, with the possibility of rescuing it virtually non-existent.
Now, the magnificently eerie abandoned oil rig has become an unusual landmark.
Though not many know about its existence, and it’s not easy to get close enough to
observe it.
The walk along the coastline to reach it, however, it's described as beautiful, so if
you enjoy abandoned relics and are ever in the area of Sandy Bay in Cape Town, it’s
worth the trek.
7.
Breakwall, Powell River Concrete ships?
Sounds counterintuitive, but they were in use during both World War I and II.
Concrete ships are built of steel and reinforced concrete instead of more traditional materials.
The materials are cheap, readily available, and were a solution during steel shortages.
A fleet of concrete ships and barges were used to support U.S. and British invasions
in Europe and the Pacific in 1944 and 1945.
Hence, this magnificent sight in the area of Powell River, British Columbia Canada - a
breakwall made up of 10 surviving ships.
Arranging them in a wall type formation allowed the Powell River Company Paper Mill to create
a barrier for its logging pond.
Things have changed since then and the breakwall doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose
today.
Out of the many concrete ships that were built during the world wars, 10 remain afloat in
a massive floating breakwater on the Malaspina Strait, which can be found in the city of
Powell River, British Columbia, in Canada.
Originally put in place to protect a paper mill, the ships were reconfigured in 2002.
What is the next step for these fascinating crafts?
Well, plans have reportedly been made to scupper them somewhere, i.e. send them to a watery
grave, in order for them to become an artificial reef.
There, divers can explore an important part of wartime heritage in an entirely new way.
Plus, we’re sure fish and other types of marine life will enjoy colonizing the new
reef.
6.
Neukrotimy, Baltiysk The Russian frigate Neukrotimy first hit the
water in the late 1970s.
It lasted all the way till the late Noughties, and currently sits submerged in water at Baltiysk
Naval Base, part of the Kaliningrad Oblast.
How did it get into this sorry state?
Let’s take a look at the history of this once proud, now very much abandoned, vessel.
In its capacity as a naval frigate, the ship naturally travelled all around the world,
in trips from Poland to Nigeria, for example.
However, as the 20th century got underway, things didn’t look good for the Neukrotimy.
An explosion on board in 2005 at St Petersburg led to the hull being seriously damaged.
From there, it was only a matter of time before its days were numbered.
Records show that tragedy struck again 3 years later, owing to an electrical fire.
The following year the frigate was decommissioned.
By 2012 it had sunk at the Baltiysk Naval Base quay.
The navy built these ships for heavy duty and, in the case of the Neukrotimy, they sure
weren’t kidding!
Would you dive this wreck if you could?
Tell me in the comments, and while you’re there make sure to subscribe to the channel
so you never miss a video!
5.
Francisco Morazan, South Manitou Island This cargo freighter ran aground approx 60
years ago and calls the shore of South Manitou Island, Lake Michigan home.
Originally the vessel hailed from Liberia, West Africa.
In 1960 the ship was going from Chicago to Holland via the Great Lakes when it encountered
terrible weather conditions.
A combination of powerful winds, and low visibility through snow and fog, resulted in the Francisco
Morazan colliding with dry land.
Information on the vessel is quite detailed.
The person responsible for the voyage was one Captain Trivizas.
While he was experienced on the water, this was his first rodeo as far as being Captain
was concerned.
What a way to start a job, right?
To raise the stakes a little higher, he was joined by his wife, who was pregnant!
Thankfully everyone seems to have been rescued and made it off the wreck.
But what about the boat?
Amazingly, the owners were elusive and so the Francisco Morazan’s fate was sealed.
You’d think whoever owned this beauty would be easy to get a hold of, but unfortunately
that was not the case at all.
By the way, if you’re wondering who Francisco Morazan, the boat’s namesake, was, he served
as President of the Federal Republic of Central America throughout the 1830s.
Regarded as a major political thinker, he also made his name through the Battle of La
Trinidad in 1827.
It’s sad that something with such an illustrious name has wound up in such a broken down state.
However, it sounds like the Great Lakes were showing no mercy that day.
You’ve probably heard the old-fashioned expression that the sea is a cruel mistress.
Well, turns out Lake Michigan can be a rough body of water to tangle with also.
4.
SS Ayrfield, Homebush Bay Is it a boat?
Is it a garden?
Really it’s both.
The SS Ayrfield contains mangrove trees which kind of fan out like a peacock’s tail.
This strange appearance naturally led to its nickname of the Floating Forest.
In a previous life it was a steam collier ship, originally coming from the UK in 1911.
What’s a collier ship?
A collier is a cargo vessel designed for transporting coal.
When World War II broke out, the SS Ayrfield, also known as the Corrimal, became a transport
ship for the Australian war effort.
What happens when a ship like this goes into retirement?
It heads to a retirement home of sorts.
Specifically Homebush Bay in Sydney, which used to be quite polluted due to chemicals
in the water from the Ayrfield and a range of other World War II vessels.
The idea was the craft would be dismantled but this job wasn’t finished.
It was then that the rather surprising development of a forest sprouted up.
And it’s a good thing that the Ayrfield was left abandoned, because it went on to
become quite a talking point in the end.
After all, how many boats do you get with trees growing out of them?
It makes for a pretty fascinating end result.
SS Maheno, Fraser Island Found in Queensland Australia, the wreck of
the SS Maheno is a tourist attraction on Fraser Island, also known as K’gari or Gari.
Sitting abandoned on 75 Mile Beach, it’s fascinating but also dangerous.
We should point out that visitors are advised not to get too close to this unstable local
feature.
How long has it been there?
Close on to 100 years by now!
And what a dramatic journey this ship had.
Believe it or not, this used to be a relaxing mode of transportation, taking well-heeled
passengers from place to place.
In 1905 the Maheno took to the water, travelling between Sydney and Auckland, not to mention
other locations.
Not that it had an entirely charmed life.
For a time it was used as a floating hospital, so it saw its fair share of drama before ending
up as a world famous wreck.
1935 saw it heading to Japan.
Why was it going there?
To die essentially.
The poor Maheno had outlived its usefulness and presumably was going to become a source
of spare parts.
Yet fate had different plans altogether.
A cyclone ensured the ship never reached its final destination.
It was blown onto 75 Mile Beach, though that wasn’t the end of the story.
Unlike others on this list, there was interest in getting the Maheno back on its sea legs.
This was a logistical nightmare by the sounds of things, and of course eventually people
threw in the towel and let the boat see out the rest of its days in a sweet spot overlooking
the water.
2.
Eduard Bohlen, Skeletal Coast Is there a scarier place to end up than the
Skeleton Coast in Namibia?
The name alone sounds like something from a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Numerous wrecks can be spotted in the area, which is known for its treacherous foggy conditions.
One of these is the Eduard Bohlen, a cargo ship hailing from far away in Germany.
The ship has had the misfortune to be at this place for well over 100 years.
It first hit the sand in 1909 - though some sources state 1907 - during a journey between
the city of Swakopmund in Namibia and Table Bay on the Cape Peninsula.
We hope the crew made it out of there, though if they did they surely suffered in the scorching
heat.
An interesting fact about the Eduard Bohlen is how far it is from the water.
A distance has been mentioned of 1,000 ft (305 m).
So why the distance?
You’d think it had dropped out from the sky rather than washed up.
The thing is, the desert sands here act almost like an animal, consuming things in its path,
including the water line!
This formerly formidable craft looks as if it’s being gobbled up with each passing
year.
If you’re brave, or foolhardy, enough to venture down there, you may want to change
your mind.
Why?
There’s usually a surprise waiting inside the boat in the form of… jackals!
Yes, apparently they use the wreck as a shelter to avoid the punishing sun.
Practical though it is, it is not good news for unwary human visitors looking to explore
the interior.
It’s also worth mentioning briefly the other major wrecks that met their maker on the Skeleton
Coast.
There’s the Dunedin Star, which comes from Liverpool and has been there since 1942.
You can probably guess what led to it being on the coast from the year.
If you haven’t, well the Second World War was on, and wartime activity saw the boat
get into trouble and become shipwrecked.
There’s something of a story here too, with not only a tugboat but also a plane getting
stuck in the area, either by going aground or crashing in the sea!
The other wreck is that of the Suiderkus, which hit the coast in 1976.
Even worse was that this happened during the maiden voyage!
Yep, Skeleton Coast sure lives up to its name.
Thankfully most of the skeletons seem to be from boats.
1.
SS Kakapo, South Africa This next story will be familiar as it shares
details with the other entries on our rundown.
Though we do have an intriguing development regarding the SS Kakapo that makes it different
and interesting.
First, let’s talk about how it ended up on Long Beach in South Africa.
The year was 1900.
The ship was transporting coal between the UK and Sydney, not a short haul by any means.
And one that was about to come to a dramatic conclusion.
Rain was whipped into an impenetrable sheet by a super strong north westerly wind.
Unable to see much through the window as a result, the crew’s time on the water was
almost up.
Reportedly they thought they were headed for a place called Cape Point.
Unfortunately their actual destination was the similar-looking Chapman’s Peak, spelling
big trouble.
For the boat that is.
Fortunately the crew managed to make it out unscathed.
Which is where things get a little crazy.
The Captain reportedly took the situation hard.
Now this is probably a tall tale but apparently what he did was choose to stay on board.
How long did he remain on the SS Kakapo?
No less than 3 years!
True or not, that is certainly an extremely long period of time to remain on board a wrecked
vessel.
Anyway, he probably didn’t anticipate his former ship becoming a tourist attraction.
It doesn’t sound like the easiest place in the world to get to, and the official advice
is not to go alone and to take care when admiring the partially covered wreck.
Thanks for watching!
Are there any incredible abandoned ships you think we left out?
Let us know in the comments.
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