[Location: Dover] Mystery of tragic shipwreck off Kent coast solved after 46 years
Kent Online 2026-10-04 15:09:47
Context: The mystery of a shipwreck off the Kent coast, specifically in the Strait of Dover, has been solved after nearly 50 years. The wreck has been identified as the Belgian fishing vessel Hosanna, which vanished with its crew in 1980. The identification was made possible through an Anglo-European investigation involving two dives at the scene.
Key Facts
- The Hosanna, a 25-metre steel fishing vessel built in Zeebrugge in 1965, was confirmed as the unidentified shipwreck off the Kent coast through an investigation led by British wreck researcher Mark Lewis of Mutiny Diving and Dutch maritime researcher Cees Meeldijk.
- The Hosanna left Plymouth on February 14, 1980, for the Netherlands but never reached its destination, and its crew of five, including skipper Germain Ackx, his son Piet Ackx, Hector Snauwaert, Pieter Guijt, and Pieter's 14-year-old nephew Pieter Albertus Guijt, remain unaccounted for.
- A liferaft associated with the trawler was discovered near the Goodwin Sands on February 16, 1980, triggering a search, but the Hosanna itself remained untraceable, with no known mayday transmitted and no survivors found.
- The identification of the wreck involved two dives, one in August and another in September, where observations, video, and evidence from the wreck's structure and wheelhouse area matched historical records and search information, confirming the Hosanna's identity 46 years after its disappearance.