Hispania: Sgeir Mor, Sound Of Mull

NM55SE 8005 5519 5045

N56 34.9260 W5 59.22

NLO: Rubh' an-t Sean Chaisteal [name: NM 551 502]

Sound of Mull [name centred NM 58 46].

Location formerly cited as NM 5519 5043 [N56 34.9 W5 48.5].

The HISPANIA went down in 14 fathoms of water after striking the Sgeir More, a reef about half a mile off the shore opposite Glenmorven. 21 members of the crew were saved, but the captain, Ivan Dahn went down with the ship. The sinking took place on Saturday evening during a storm of wind, rain and sleet, which made visibility in the Sound of Mull practically nil. The HISPANIA, which left Liverpool on Friday with a cargo of steel bound for Sweden hugged the Scottish coastline to miss the worst of the storm and after coming round the Ross of Mull, turned into the Sound to head for the open sea once again. She was nearing the westerly end of the Sound when ran bow on to the reef and stuck fast.

After the engine was put full astern, with a shuddering motion, the ship slid backwards off the rock, but she was badly holed forward, and had an alarming list to port. Despite the fact that she was making water quickly, there was no panic among members of the crew who had time to get dressed and lower the two lifeboats and enter them.

All members of the crew except Captain Dahn were in the boats, and they rowed round the ship for almost an hour. The storm had abated by then, and the water was fairly calm. The members of the crew shouted to the captain to leave the HISPANIA, but he firmly refused. Suddenly the boat took a severe lurch - a bulkhead must have broken and the seas poured in - and without further warning she sank under the waves.

The men in the lifeboats made for the Morvern shore and landed near Drimnin, where they stopped a passing car which ferried the crew to the village post office, where they were given hot drinks. The survivors were then taken to Tobermory.

Source: Oban Times, 25 December 1954.

HISPANIA, lies in 30 metres of water and stands 15 metres above the bottom.

(Transits for locating her are illustrated in the source).

Source: Butland & Siedlecki, BSAC Wreck Register. 1987.

(Classified as steel steamship, with general cargo: date of loss cited as 18 December 1954). Hispania: this vessel was wrecked on Sgeir More. Capt. Dahn.

Registration: Gothenburg. Built 1912. 1337grt. Length: 80m. Beam: 11m.

(Location of loss cited as N56 34.95 W5 59.15).

I G Whittaker 1998.

Material reported under RoW amnesty (2001):

A1163 5 bottles: from seabed

A1957 1 porthole: from seabed

A3133 1 sream horn, 1 Very pistol: from seabed.

NMRS, MS/829/35.

This Swedish general cargo steamship was built in 1912 and wrecked in the Sound of Mull on 18 December 1954; her cargo of sheet metal, asbestos, rubber and fishing line was salvaged soon after the sinking. Although not particularly large, this wreck is effectively intact while the strong ambient currents support a dense covering of anemones, tunicates and hydroids, making this a popular recreational dive. The ship is typical of the type and period, and broadly similar to the nearby Thesis (NM74SW 8001) and Shuna (NM54NE 8004), which were built in 1887 and 1909 respectively.

The ship is of five-hold design with raised forecastle and poop. The superstructure (aft of no. 3 hold) has lost its funnel, but the engine room roof framing remains substantially intact, as do the poop accommodation block and most of masts and/or kingposts. Other identifiable fittings include the propeller shaft, rudder and auxiliary steering gear (aft), a spare propeller (secured to the forward side of the poop accommodation block), and the starboard anchor.

The wreck lies immediately shorewards (to the W) of a channel buoy and the charted clearance is 2.7m; the nature of the seabed is not specifically noted on the chart. It is on a slight slope with a slight list to starboard and bows pointing towards Mull, typical depths being 24m at the bow and 32m at the stern. This location falls on the NE edge of a shelf above the main drop-off into the glacial trough at a point where the Sound is narrower than elsewhere.

(For location plan and photograph in service, see Macdonald 1993, 18 and Moir and Crawford 1994, 169 respectively).

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 5 November 2002 [visited on numerous occasions 1995 to date].

R Macdonald 1993; Moir and Crawford 1994; R and B Larn 1998; Diver 1999.

HO chart no. 2390 (1976, revised to 1991).

In November 1999, a scallop dredger got its gear caught in the superstructure, possibly causing minor scrape damage to the hull and laying one of the masts over on its side. The hull is leaning considerably to one side, and may be slipping into a developing scour pit.

The mast is broken but the rudder is still in place. Impact scrapes are apparent:

1. on port side about 7m from the bow (measures about 2m across),

2. on starboard side of deckhouse aft of engine.

Information from Mr P Robertson (Lochaline Dive Centre), 8 November 2002: visited (SOMAP), 26 June 2001.

(Location cited as N56 34.9260 W5 48.5 (WGS84): [NGR NM 5519 5045]). This wreck lies on a shelving seabed of gravely sand with rocky outcrops, and close to the drop-off into a glacial trough over 90m deep. The bows point towards the Mull shore, and the wreck displays a list to starboard, which has been increasing in recent years. The seabed is between 24 and 26m below chart datum at the bow, while the top of the superstructure and the highest parts of the port side both lie at between 14 and 16m below chart datum.

The wreck has long been popular with recreational divers, and was salvaged during the 1950's by members of Scarborough SAC. In November 1999, a scallop dredger caught her gear in the superstructure, possibly causing minor scrape damage to the hull and laying one of the masts on its side. No previous archaeological survey is recorded.

The multibeam dataset has given a cross-section through the bridge structure, which indicates a list to starboard of about 30 degrees; this is confirmed by divers. This cross-section and the bathymetry plots suggest that a scour pit is developing close to the starboard side. Fringed by bedrock outcrops, this is centred around (UTM) 316552.650E 6274856.705N [equates N56 54.923 W5 59.261 or NM 5519 5044] and reaches a depth of 24.824m below chart datum, some 0.7m deeper than the adjacent seabed. This feature is presumably formed by the (stronger) ebb tide and eddies created on the flood; the wreck is leaning increasingly into it while sediment increases on the port side.

The sidescan dataset records all five holds, as well as the superstructure, forecastle and poop. The poop accommodation block is now badly collapsed, whereas in 1999 only the roof had rotted away. The floor frames are visible within the holds, suggesting that little cargo remains. The funnel has been lost, but the superstructure remains substantially intact, the engine room roof framing being evident. The mast or kingpost between the after holds has recently collapsed. Other recognisable features include the counter stern and rudder, while divers have reported that auxiliary steering gear (aft), a spare propeller (secured to the forward side of the poop) and an anchor (on the seabed off the starboard bow) remain in situ.

(Survey area defined: report illustrated with chart extract and colour sonar imagery).

MS/2338 (pp. 30-5, 92).

This wreck is charted [Wk] and is depicted as lying in 25m depth of water, and rising to a clearance depth of 2.7m. The seabed is locally of shell, and shelves steeply to the E and NE. There is a prominent can buoy offshore (to the ENE).

Sgeir Mor or More is not noted as such on the 1997 edition of the OS 1:50,000 map. The wreck lies off the ill-defined headland of Rubh' an-t Sean Chaisteal.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 24 June 2005.

UKHO chart no. 2390 (1976, amended 1991).