September 2019

On the night of the 7th December 2011 the Edro III set sail from Limassol carrying a cargo of plasterboard destined for Rhodes with a crew of 9 sailors, 2 Egyptian and 7 Albanian.  The ship left port with a green light due to the weather being deemed fit for the voyage where the vessel set sail west for the open sea.

The weather deteriorated quickly and suddenly the 9 sailors found themselves battle with the 80 metres (260 ft) ship weighing approximately 2500 tons in a severe storm.  For hours they thought waves cloaked in darkness to keep the ship on course but durning the fatal morning of 8th December the Edro III struck rocks only a few meters from the coast of Peyia.

 

 

The Edro III ran aground not far from another abandoned shipwreck the Dimitrious II which was also held captive to the rocks of Chloraka near Paphos Lighthouse on 23rd March 1998.  The Dimitros II also ran aground in heavy seas, during a voyage from Greece to Syria carrying a cargo of timber.

Thankfully all crew members survived and were rescued by a British military rescue helicopter and the quick to react services removed all its fuel from the onboard tanks to eliminate the risk of any pollution to the area.  The regional administrative authority, Peyia Municipality has mentioned that there as been several attempts to toe the vessel and studies carried out to remove the shipwreck but all have since been abandoned due to the complexity of the project.  With no current plans to remove the vessel the Edro III lies abandoned tilted at 12 degrees being battered by sea just a stones throw away from the near sea cave area.

You can be forgiven for having mixed emotions as you stand there in such a beautiful coastal location where the turquoise blue sea crashes agains the rocks with a large manmade rusting vessel abandoned on the coastline.  Sadness of the idilic location spoilt by man but also something poetic and oddly beautiful how the ship has now become a part of the landscape and now a popular attraction.

I have been planning this photoshoot for a long time and all my images were shot over a couple of days and although I didn’t get exactly the cloud formation I was after I was more than happy with results.  West facing you can get spectacular sunsets here and I would highly recommend to visit and watch the sunset with a nice glass of wine from the Oniro By The Sea Restaurant.

 

The above image is my personal favourite photograph from the shoot with the setting sun low in the sky and the sea lapping over partially submerged rocks in the foreground.

 

 

This image is similar to the previous one above but with more of the rocks exposed as the tide was lower creating an interesting wash in the foreground to anchor the image.

 

 

With the sunlight harsh on the sea and just entering golden hour in this photograph I wanted to try and capture the motion of the waves so I opted for a long exposure but only of a few seconds.  I wanted to maintain detail and didn’t want to create a flat looking sea as I don’t think it suits the image or created the right feeling for the location at that point in time.

 

 

This image is another favourite of mine and was take from the other side of the bay on my first evening of shooting at this location.  The sky was illuminated by bright yellows as the sun started set about 20 minutes before sunset.  I was frantically running round trying to find a composition as I couldn’t get to my preferred location due to too many people there but it turned ok in the end.

 

 

Finally this image was taken 10 minutes after the one above and I was worried that I wasn’t going to get a nice deep red fiery sky due to the cloud on the horizon.  Luckily the cloud was low enough on the horizon which allowed me to get this shot but literally within minutes the sun sank below the cloud and the light faded.

If you find yourself in Cyprus then this area of Peyia is definitely worth a visit with other epic locations worth visiting close by such as the sea caves, tomb of the kings and the Akamas Peninsula to name but a few you won’t be disappointed.