The remains of the ship that ended its journey in the approaches of Klaipėda port still pose a danger to vacationers. Although decades have passed since the ship was washed ashore by storms, its rusted remains still lie in the water and sand of the shore.
Older residents of Klaipėda still remember when in 1969 at the end of October, about half a kilometer south of the central Smiltynė beach rescue station, the German ship “Hans Bernstein” got stuck on the shore.
Then they tried to pull it ashore, but all efforts were in vain, so the ship remained ashore and turned into a ghost.
Only in 1995, this ship was finished cutting and its silhouette did not remain on the beach. However, the sand-swept metal bottom still lies between the beach sand and the water.
Rusty, sharp pieces of metal jut out and threaten unwary vacationers where the line between the men’s beach and the nudist beach is now.
Rusty, sharp pieces of metal jut out and threaten unwary vacationers where the line between the men’s beach and the nudist beach is now.
Back in 2003, the daily “Klaipėda” wrote about a boy who was injured in this remote place. The injury was serious, the young man stepped on the sharp remains of the ship and was seriously injured.
Then the guy’s leg was operated on, the doctors were forced to cut off part of the torn muscle. The wound soaked in rusted metal was healing with difficulty.
The victim complained two decades ago that dangerous places were not marked in any way.
This is not the only such place in Smiltyne. The other one is not classified as an official beach, it is located closer to the southern jetty, at the Kopgali fortress. The rusted metal structures resemble the outline of a ship, but it is not a ship. This is an outline of a seawater pumping station tank.
The facility has long since ceased to be used, but it still stands on the seafront. Sometimes it is clearly visible, sometimes the sea and the wind hide it more under a layer of sand. Some residents of Klaipėda remember the times when they used to dive into the sea from the edge of this object.
Žigintas Narmontas, the head of the budget institution “Klaipėda Beaches”, said that he was not aware of such a danger to vacationers, but after consulting with his subordinates, he announced that soon both mentioned places will be marked with warning signs. Holes in the sea are marked similarly.
For now, the facility does not have the ability to remove the remains of the ship, but warning signs can help protect vacationers from injury.
