Diver Inspection
Date 2013
Event ID 998474
Category Recording
Type Diver Inspection
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/998474
58 52.909 N 2 53.887 W The remains lie on a sand bottom, in about 8m – 10m of water and have a moderate coverage of short animal turf. The debris can be affected by storm swells but are generally sheltered from tide. The wrecks in Skerry Sound are subject to coastal accretion with an increase in sedimentation caused by the construction of the barriers.
The stern of the vessel is intact with the railings and a pair of bitts visible. The steering quadrant noted on the side scan image was identified in situ, but there is no propeller. Moving forward, the propeller shaft and tunnel were observed. There are sections of the aft mast in the surrounding debris. The remains of a triple expansion engine and the engine wheel are still in place although the engine is lying on its side. These are surrounded by several sections of metal grating likely from the engine room walkway. Two Scotch boilers were recorded forward of the engine.
There are some well-preserved large sections of steel ribs and hull plating.
Midships, the remains of a hatch and davit, and a section of steel plating with a porthole aperture were observed.
The bow is also comparatively intact, standing just clear of the water at low tide. The remains in this section included an anchor winch and several pairs of bitts. The fore and aft holds have been filled with concrete – this was used to sink the vessel during the scuttling. There was no visible evidence of modern debris.
Analysis
Historical documents and images confirm these are the remains of the SS Emerald Wings.
The results of the 1972 UO survey recorded in the UKHO report (1261) describe the remains of the wreckage as “small but intact, most of the hull dries but it is in a weak state and will soon collapse”. The distinctive forward mast which is visible above the water at any state of the tide was not recorded.
In 1976 the Ordnance Survey (OS) correctly associate this mast with the SS Emerald Wings based on aerial photographs.
An unspecified survey completed in 1982 and unspecified survey describe the remains as a ‘dredger – like vessel whose “mast always shows and most of wreck”. It is likely that this survey conflates the remains of the nearby AC6/FC Pontoon barge with the mast of the SS Emerald Wings as with the exception of the small sections of bow and the mast, the rest of the Emerald Wings is submerged.
In 1985 Macdonald (1985) describes the remains as “now well dispersed with boiler showing at low water”, this accurately describes the SS Argyle and is clearly not the SS Emerald Wings. This is further confirmed by the location of the SS Emerald Wings in his map of Skerry Sound (Macdonald 1993).
A British steel steamship built as the SS Depute Pierre Goujon by Government Yard, Cherbourg for the French Government, Le Havre in 1920, the SS Emerald Wings had four owners before being purchased by the Admiralty in 1940. In 1934 the SS Depute Pierre Goujon was renamed Nicholas Baikas while under the ownership of the Greek company Pothitos E. Baikas. The vessel was only named SS Emerald Wings in 1936 when purchased by Wing Line Ltd.
Information from Annalisa Christie, Kevin Heath and Mark Littlewood (ORCA) March 2014
Scuttled as a blockship in Skerry Sound on the 5th July 1940, the forward mast and sections of the bow stand clear of the water at all states of the tide. This is not the mast of the SS Elton as described by Ferguson (1985) and Macdonald (1993).
