MV Dania

The Dania was a cargo ship that got scuttled aground on 27 October 2002 along Nyali Reef, just off Bamburi, Kenya.

History
Netherlands
Name:
  • Dania (1965-1976)
  • Kviksholm (1976-1981)
  • Rodriguez (1981-1987)
  • Dania (1987-2002)
Owner: Nieuwe Kustvaart Mij Naamloze Vennootschap
Port of registry:  Amsterdam
Builder: Hatlo Verksted SA (Ulsteinvik)
Launched: 1965
Fate: Scuttled in 2002
Status: Shipwreck
General characteristics
Displacement: 495 long tons
Length: 75 m (246 ft)
Beam: 3.81 m (12.5 ft)
Installed power: 1,400 hp (1,000 kW)
Propulsion: MAK 8-cylinder diesel

Building

The ship was built in Ulsteinvik (Norway) for the Amsterdam-based shipping company Nieuwe Kustvaart Mij Naamloze Vennootschap, trading in North and Baltic seas.

In November 1976, the ship is sold to the Norwegian ship-owner Simon Mokster and is renamed Kviksholm. It is sold again in August 1981 to the Mauritius-based ship-owner Mascareignes Shipping and Trading Company Limited and renamed Rodriguez, after one island of the Mascareignes Archipelago. It is then turned into a cattle ship, shuttling between South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritius.[1]

In 1987, it is bought by Columbus Incorporated. Registered at San Morenzo, Honduras, it gets back its first name Dania and carries on cruising along the African coasts of the Indian Ocean and northward to the Persic Gulf.

Finally, in 1997, its last ship owner is Spanfreight Shipping Limited, based in Mombasa, Kenya.

In 2001, the ship is disused, due to the collapse of live cattle transport in the region. Bound to demolition in India, it is eventually bought by the diving club Buccaneer Diving,[1] which has it prepared, decontaminated, cleaned and finally scuttled (with the agreement of Kenya Wildlife Service) off the Leven reef close to Mombasa, down to 30 m depth on October 27 of 2002.[2]

The shipwreck is now a popular diving site,[2] sheltering an important biodiversity.

Tourism

The shipwreck is located 1.5 km from ras Iwetine in Bamburi, north of Mombasa : this represents 10 min of travel with a motorboat. Its coordinates are 4.017746°S 39.7743155°E / -4.017746; 39.7743155.[3] She lies on a 30m depth sandy bottom, with her highest elements culminating at 12m depth at low tide.[4] The shipwreck is made safe by a good preparation and signaling buoys at the surface, allowing the mooring of dive boats.

The remains of the Dania lie in shallow waters that are well suited to diving. She is a popular recreational scuba diving destination ("Advanced +" level dive).[4]

The ship is now colonized by a wide diversity of animal species.[5]

References
  1. "MV Dania". Buccaneer Diving.
  2. MV Dania, East Africa's n°1 wreck dive site Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. Location on diveseven.com.
  4. "Dania Wreck". Buccaneer Diving.
  5. MV Dania Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine on TropicalDivingKenya.


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