The Gulf of Elefsina is a large protected deepwater basin west of Athens and has been used for the past 70 years as a major lay-up site for old ships from all over the world. Here Mediterranean Sky lies rusting, abandoned and half sunk, leaving no hint as to her unusual past and historic origins.
Mediterranean Sky was launched in March 1953 as City of York by Vickers Armstrongs at their Newcastle High Walker yard. She had been commissioned by Ellerman Lines as one of four combination passenger/cargo liners for the South African run; the other ships in the class were City of Port Elizabeth, City of Exeter and City of Durban.
At 541ft in length, the quartet were some of the largest and most luxurious combi-liners in the Ellerman fleet, boasting facilities not seen on other similar ships of the era, such as swimming pools, children’s play rooms (with their own deck space), and en suite cabins on A deck, as well as a smoke room, restaurant and a
