Alkimos

The Alkimos as viewed from the shore,

The Alkimos was a merchant shipping vessel which was wrecked on the coast north of Perth, Western Australia in 1963. The wreck is a diving venue, but is also of interest to ghost hunters.

History

The ship was built as part of the United States' Liberty ship program during World War II. It was launched in Baltimore in 1943 and was originally scheduled to be named George M. Shriver. The ship was instead christened Viggo Hansteen and saw war service for about 18 months. After the war it was sold to a Greek shipping company and renamed Alkimos (Greek for "strong"; also the father of Mentor).
As Alkimos, the ship plied the world's oceans for some two decades. In March 1963, the vessel was on a voyage from Jakarta to Bunbury when it struck a reef off the Western Australian coast. It was salvaged and towed to Fremantle, the port city for Perth, where it underwent repairs for two months. After settlement of a dispute concerning payment for the repairs, the Alkimos left Fremantle under tow by an ocean-going tug from Hong Kong.
Only a few hours out of port, the tow line gave way and the Alkimos was driven onto the shore. Although the ship remained intact, it could not be floated off at that time, and so it was filled with water to secure it in place and left in the charge of an on-board caretaker. Another tug returned in January 1964 and the ship was refloated, but the planned journey to Manila had hardly begun when the tug was seized at sea by authorities and the Alkimos was left anchored. In May 1964, the vessel broke anchor and was driven onto the Eglinton Rocks near present-day Yanchep. On this occasion it was more severely damaged, and all thought of salvaging it intact was abandoned. It was sold by the owners for the purposes of scrapping. However, even that outcome was thwarted when, in 1969, a salvage worker said he heard ghostly noises when he was going to sleep and salvage workers were driven off the wreck by an unexplained fire, and since that time the partly dismantled remains of the ship have been left standing in several metres of water very visible to visitors to the location.
As of April 2007 the structure was almost fully disintegrated above the water line to the point where only the engine block is visible from the beach.

A variety of events and allegations throughout the vessel's history have given rise to it being regarded as being 'jinxed', cursed or haunted, both during its working life and since it was wrecked. This aspect is the main focus of present-day interest in the ship.

Regular references are made in radio and television shows regarding the superstitions. Jack Wong Sue, who co-authored a book on the subject, has appeared on ABC television describing the hauntings.
Stories of paranormal events linked with the Alkimos (many detailed in Sue's book) include:

• During the hasty construction of the ship welders were allegedly sealed between hulls, with their ghosts haunting the vessel ever since (this story is identical to one told about the SS Great Eastern)

• Apparitions of a small dog in the engine room during the ship's service.

• A murder-suicide is alleged to have occurred on the ship.

• Horses riding along the beach are said to refuse to pass the wreck.

• An apparition of a human figure (christened "Harry") has been sighted on the ship by various people including local cray fishermen. Subsequent searchings of the wreck have never been able to locate anyone. Harry is said to appear in rubber boots and oilskins.

• A number of allegedly paranormal phenomena were reported by salvage workers occupying the wreck. Footsteps were heard on ladders when all salvage crews were accounted for, and ghostly footsteps would follow workers around the vessel at night. Cooking smells and noises would emanate from the galley, but upon investigation would cease, only to begin again when the galley door was closed. Tools were reported to be moved by unseen hands, mysteriously vanishing then reappearing later.

• At one point a married couple took over as caretakers of the ship. The wife (who was pregnant) suffered a serious fall and had to be rushed to hospital where she gave birth to a premature stillborn baby.

• Herbert Voight, a locally well known long distance swimmer vanished while attempting to swim between Cottesloe Beach and Rottnest Island in 1969. Some years later his skull was found near the wreck.

• The ship was bought and sold at least 8 times whilst stranded. It is claimed that each person or persons who purchased the ship suffered inexplicable bad luck (such as bankruptcy and life threatening illness) which mysteriously vanished once the vessel was re-sold.

• Bad luck is said to have plagued others associated with the wreck. A US Navy submariner by the name of Ted Snider was killed in a plane crash after assessing the wreck. Jack Sue was hospitalised in intensive care with an unidentified respiratory disease after researching the ship.

• Numerous other stories of near drownings, engine failures and accidents near the wreck are reported.

Legacy

There is now a locality named Alkimos near the site of the wreck and named after it.