Solent's 'forgotten' shipwreck remembered as grave of seafarer lost in 1990 storm disaster receives headstone 32 years later

Around 30 guests gathered at Kingston Cemetery to pay their respects as wreaths were laid at the plaque remembering Ibrahim Hussain.

The ceremony marked the installation of a headstone for the Maldives seafarer who died when the MV Flag Theofano sank in the Solent during a storm in January 1990.

Her entire crew of 19 were lost, and while most have no known grave, Mr Hussain was recovered from the sea and buried in the Muslim section of Kingston Cemetery.

Although his grave was unmarked for many years, a headstone was funded by members of the Southampton Shipowners’ Association and people involved in the search operation or the local shipping industry at the time.

Now the headstone has been installed by Portsmouth City Council in a service conducted by Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo.

Today also marked the launch of ‘The Forgotten Shipwreck’, Martin Woodward’s new book which documents the loss of the Flag Theofano.

Martin was involved with diving on the wreck immediately after she sank for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the vessel's owners/insurers.

At today’s ceremony, Martin - who lives overlooking the site of the disaster - said that it was a ‘privilege’ to be in attendance.

He said: 'It's good that we have been able to get everyone here to pay their respects and to honour the crew of the ship. None of them had even had a chance to grab a life jacket.

'It's very poignant but it's great that it is being recognised.

'It's the biggest tragedy that any one of us remembers, and yet so few seem to remember it.'

Roger Thornton, of Wainwrights Shipping Agents, played a major role as port agent after the tragedy.

He told The News: 'I took a phone call that evening, saying it was too stormy to bring her up to Southampton.

'No one even knew that the ship had already been sunk for 13 hours. When we got the first reports, I felt a sense of impending doom.’

Roger says he has 'a mixture of feelings' about the plaque ceremony. He said: 'I have been involved in other successful operations but in this case, it was all lives lost. There was nothing successful at all about it.

'This is a very fitting way to turn it from a forgotten shipwreck to a remembered one.

'To see all these people here is remarkable.'

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Steve Hunt, who has been heavily involved in organisation of the headstone, has been sailing boats past the site for two decades.

He said: 'If you were to ask people in Southsea if they knew that there was a shipwreck with people still in it - it just seems to have been forgotten. Hopefully people will realise it is out there.

'Mr Hussain is the only one who was found who wasn't repatriated. He was just left here.’

The ceremony was filmed and will be sent to Mr Hussain’s daughter and sister in the Maldives.

'Now his family can have a bit of closure’, Steve added.