Emerald Wings: Skerry Sound, Scapa Flow, Orkney

Whittaker ID : 155

Name : EMERALD WINGS (EX. NICHOLAS BAIKAS, ...)

Latitude : 585254

Longitude : 25353

Date Built : 1920

Registration : LONDON

Type : SS (STEEL)

Tonnage : 2139

Tonnage Code : G

Length : 82

Beam : 12

Draught : 6m

Position : Exact Position

Loss Day : 13

Loss Month : 7

Loss Year : 1940

Comment : Scuttled as a blockship in Skerry Sound

UKHO Identifier : 001261

Feature Class : Wreck

State : LIVE

Classification : Unclassified

Position (Lat/long) : 58.88181,-2.89811

Horizontal Datum : ORDNANCE SURVEY OF GREAT BRITAIN (1936)

WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 58.88139,-2.89973

WGS84 Origin : 3-D Cartesian Shift (BW)

Position Method : Air photography

Position Quality : Unreliable

Depth Quality : Depth unknown

Water Depth : 5

Vertical Datum : Lowest Astronomical Tide

Name : EMERALD WINGS

Type : BLOCKSHIP

Flag : BRITISH

Orientation : 80.0

Tonnage : 2139

Tonnage Type : Gross

Date Sunk : ??/07/1940

Contact Description : Notable debris

Original Sensor : Reported Sinking

Last Sensor : None reported

Original Detection Year : 1940

Last Detection Year : 1982

Original Source : Other

Last Source : Other

Circumstances of Loss : **STEEL SINGLE-SCREW SS, BUILT 1920, SUNK AS A BLOCKSHIP AT SW END OF SKERRY SOUND BARRIER. (WKS OF SCAPA FLOW, DIVE SCAPA FLOW).

Surveying Details : **H2496/72 14.3.72 POSN 585253N, 025354W, OR 213.5DEG, 2450FT FROM LAMB HOLM TRIG STN (61). PROTECTED BY GLIMPSHOLM SKERRY, SMALL BUT INTACT. MOST OF THE HULL DRIES BUT IS IN A WEAK STATE AND WILL SOON COLLAPSE. (UNDERMARINE OPERATIONS, 5.3.72). INS AS DWP. BR STD.

**H1270/76 2.3.76 ISOLATED MAST STANDING 19MTRS ABOVE MHWS IN 585254.5N, 025353.2W. THERE IS ALSO A LINE OF SCATTERED WRECKAGE ABOVE MLW EXTENDING 80MTRS N, 80MTRS W & 20MTRS S FROM MAST. (ORDNANCE SURVEY AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY 73/137 DTD 16.5.73 FOR PHOTOPLOT PG 1428-LP1).

**2.11.79 COVERED BY LEGEND BLOCKSHIPS ON NC 2162.

**3.7.80 NOT SHOWN ON NC 35 (AREA BLUED OUT).

**11.12.81 COVERED BY LEGEND 'WKS' ON NC 2250.

**27.5.82 REFERRED TO AS 'DREDGER LIKE VESSEL'. MAST ALWAYS SHOWS AND MOST OF DECK. (BSAC WK REGISTER, VOL V - ILSENSTEIN ENTRY). PRESUMABLY THIS WK, BUT POSSIBLY NOT EMERALD WINGS.

**27.8.92 NOW WELL DISPERSED WITH BOILER SHOWING AT LW. (DIVE SCAPA FLOW).

Charting Comments : POSN FOR FILING ONLY

Date Last Amended : 09/02/2005

The Scapa Flow 2013 Marine Archaeology Survey Project, commissioned by Historic Scotland, undertook remote sensing surveys and archaeological diving evaluations at some of the sites within Scapa Flow, Orkney and at the Churchill Barriers.

The project aimed to establish or confirm the identification, extent of survival, character and condition of around 28 known but mostly poorly recorded First and Second World War wreck sites, 8 salvage sites, several sites thought to be associated with Second World War Boom Defences, and a limited sample of geophysical features identified in previous studies (Project Adair).

The work built on that of previous surveys including those completed as part of the ScapaMap Project (2001 and 2006) and by Wessex Archaeology Scapa Flow Wrecks Survey (2012), amongst others.

The project was completed by ORCA Marine and SULA Diving

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).

58 52.909 N 2 53.887 W The site was assessed by side scan surveys using a pole-mounted towfish and diver ground-truthed.

The side scan images show the remains of vessel measuring 32m long by 8m beam. The wreckage is oriented east to west, with the bow to the west and comprises section of plates and ribs. A feature to the stern of the vessel is thought to be a steering quadrant.

Information from Annalisa Christie, Kevin Heath and Mark Littlewood (ORCA) March 2014