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Diver Inspection
Date 2013
Event ID 998384
Category Recording
Type Diver Inspection
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/998384
58 53.498 N 2 54.191 W The remains of a well broken down vessel lie on a sandy bottom in 7m – 12m of water. The main area of wreckage has numerous well corroded, sections of steel hull plating (some of which have porthole apertures), deck plating and ribs with moderate coverage of short animal turf. The remains can be affected by swell but are generally sheltered from tide.
Some wooden decking was visible to the stern section. The engine and boilers were not observed during the dives, but these remains could be buried under the wreckage.
There were numerous sections of coiled and linear piping within the debris. The coiled piping is reminiscent of the piping found at the back of refrigeration units and could be evidence of the vessel’s cargo. Two air vent apertures and some broken up sections of mast were also observed.
An abandoned creel was noted in the remains.
Analysis
The location of the remains evaluated in light of historical documents and
photographs confirm this is the wreck of the RMS Thames (ADM Report X96-2). A British steel steamship built in 1890 by Robert Napier and Sons Glasgow for Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the RMS Thames was originally a passenger and mail ship. Sold for scrapping in 1914 and resold to the Admiralty in 1915 for use as a blockship in Holm Sound, the vessel was sunk 7th January 1915).
Measuring 133.3m long by 15.3m beam when built, the vessel appears to have broken down within the confines of its original dimensions and recent surveys can counter accounts from the UO survey in 1972 which indicated that the ‘stern is missing’. The stern was clearly visible on side scan and diving surveys.
The UKHO report which outlines the results of multibeam surveys completed by Fathoms in 2010 notes that the wreck “appears as a seabed mound” and measures 35m long by 10m beam. This is considerably less wreckage than was observed by either the side scan or the diver surveys completed as part of this project.
Information from Annalisa Christie, Kevin Heath and Mark Littlewood (ORCA) March 2014
