General Colocotronis
Oil Tanker · Greece · Lost 1968 · The Bahamas
A Greek supertanker broke down in heavy seas off Eleuthera, spilled tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil, and was ultimately scuttled after salvage.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
General Colocotronis was a Greek-flagged oil tanker that suffered an engine failure in heavy weather on a voyage from Aruba to Palm Beach and grounded on a reef off Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera, on 7 March 1968. She spilled roughly 37,000 barrels of crude oil, and salvors pumped off most of the remaining cargo before towing the damaged hull to deep water, where she was deliberately sunk on 30 April 1968. One crew member was lost during the evacuation, and the incident became an early landmark case in the use of chemical dispersants for oil-spill cleanup.
Vessel
- 1955
- Smith's Dock Co.
- United Kingdom
- Steel
- 555 ft
- 71.5 ft
- 11916
- Diesel, single screw
- Astro Constante Navigation, Piraeus
Loss
- March 7, 1968
- Mechanical failure
- Reef about 1.5 miles east of Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera Island
- Atlantic Ocean, off Eleuthera
- Aruba → Palm Beach, Florida
- Venezuelan crude oil, approximately 119,000 barrels
- 28
- 1
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Deliberately scuttled in deep water after salvage; not a shallow dive site.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 25.33° N 76.33° W
- Approximate position
- Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera Island
Approximate grounding position from NOAA incident report; final scuttling position in deep water is not documented.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (82/100)
The exact position of the final scuttling in deep water is not established in the sources reviewed.
Grounding date, cargo volume, spill amount, salvage sequence, and scuttling.
The Tribune (Nassau) — Eric Wiberg maritime history column
Vessel dimensions, builder, ownership, cause of engine failure, casualty, and rescue narrative.
