Shiplover 123 |
|
| I recently discovered the existence and the 2008/2009 fate of the historic ship „Concord“ in the harbor of the city of Salerno.
I have to mention, that the loss of this ship is not only a loss for the city of Salerno and its cultural life, it is also a significant loss to the international maritime heritage and for the touristic features in the Amalfi region.
As read from the many newspaper articles I discovered concerning the fate of the “Concord”, it seems, that nobody really knew about the real former history of the ship.
The ships silhouette and shape and its last location only allow to identify the latter “Concord” as the Italian passenger ship “Partenope” (later named “Ischia”). This peculiar ship was built in Germany in 1919 as “M140”, a Minesweeper class 1916 ship for the Imperial German Navy during the last days of World War 1. When the war ended, she was not completed, but was allowed to be finished as a civilian passenger ship. As such, she served the German HAPAG line under the name “Hörnum” until she was sold to Great Britain, where she served as “St. Elian” until she was sold to Italy.
If you are capable to understand German, you will find the full history of the ship – excluding her last name and fate as “Concord” - in the German Wikipedia.
As the last existing Imperial German Navy vessel and the last of the Minesweepers of the 1916 class in Europe (there are only two partially submerged vessels in Argentina, which are in much worse shape than the “concord” in 2008) she could have been a magnificent cultural and historic magnet for shiplovers from all of the world. She also was the last survivor of the “Seedienst Ostpreussen”, a sealink to the former German eastern territories, after WW1 divided from the rest of Germany.
With the ship, this opportunity for the region has vanished forever. No concrete promenade will ever attract visitors the same level as a proper reconstructed historical ship of this historical importance could have done.
The Salerno authorities completely failed in that case and demolished part of an international maritime heritage. This can thoroughly be seen as a malediction to the cultural heritage in the Amalfi region in whole.
|
| | |
