Martis: East Weddell Sound, Scapa Flow, Orkney

Throughout the two World Wars Scapa Flow served as the base of the British Home Fleet. Access to these waters was guarded by a series of coastal batteries, booms and blockships. The blockships comprised old and damaged vessels which were deliberately sunk in position so as to form a submarine obstacle to deter enemy incursions. By 1943, the completion of the Churchill barriers, which cut off the eastern approaches to Scapa Flow, rendered the blockships obsolete. After 1945 some of the blockships were dispersed by explosive to clear the shipping lanes while many others were salvaged for parts and metal. The wrecks of several blockships remain on the sea bed and in the inter tidal zone.

(i) To the E side of Churchill Barrier #3, the wreck of the Reginald (ND 49 NE 8010) lies in shallow water. This 930 tons iron three-masted motor schooner was built in 1878 in Glasgow and was sunk in 1915. The stern section of the hull is visible above the water line.

(ii) The Lapland (ND 49 NE 8013), a 1,234 ton steel single-screw steamer was built in Dundee in 1890 and registered in Liverpool. Little of this blockship is now visible, since the barrier was constructed over it.

(iii) The Gartshore (ND 49 NE 8012), a 1,564 tons iron single-screw steamer, was built and registered in South Shields. She lies to the W side of the barrier.

(iv) The Martis (ND 49 NE 8011), a 2,483 ton steel single-screw steamer, was built in South Shields in 1894. She lies to the W side of the barrier.

(v) The Empire Seaman (ND 49 NE 8001) )was a steel single-screw steamer of 1,921 tons. Built in Lubeck in 1922, she was seized by the Royal Navy in 1940 and sunk as a blockship. She lies to the W side of the barrier.

Moore and Wilson, 1997

Coastal Zone Assessment Survey

Whittaker ID : 193

Name : MARTIS (EX. WILLIAM BALLS)

Latitude : 585215

Longitude : 25449

Date Built : 1894

Registration : LONDON

Type : SS (STEEL)

Tonnage : 2483

Tonnage Code : G

Length : 91

Beam : 12

Draught : 5m

Position : Exact Position

Loss Day : 14

Loss Month : 6

Loss Year : 1940

Comment : Scuttled as blockship. Bows and stern removed?

UKHO Identifier : 001255

Feature Class : Obstn

State : LIVE

Classification : Unclassified

Position (Lat/long) : 58.87005,-2.91530

Horizontal Datum : ETRS 1989

WGS84 Position (Lat/long) : 58.87005,-2.91530

WGS84 Origin : Original

Previous Position : 58.87097,-2.91367

Position Quality : Precisely known

Depth Quality : Depth unknown

Water Depth : 2

Vertical Datum : Lowest Astronomical Tide

Name : MARTIS

Type : BLOCKSHIP

Flag : BRITISH

Tonnage : 2483

Tonnage Type : Gross

Date Sunk : 14/06/1940

Contact Description : Notable debris

Original Sensor : Reported Sinking

Last Sensor : Acoustic Sensor

Original Detection Year : 1940

Last Detection Year : 2010

Original Source : Other

Last Source : Survey Vessel

Circumstances of Loss : **STEEL SINGLE-SCREW STEAMER, BUILT 1894, SUNK AS A BLOCKSHIP. (WKS OF SCAPA FLOW).

Surveying Details : **H2496/72 14.3.72 POSN 685213N, 025450W, OR 182DEG, 2200FT FROM GLIMP HOLM TRIG STN (97). STERN AND BOWS HAVE BEEN CUT OFF AND REMOVED. NO SIGN OF ENGINES BUT ALL FITTINGS EXIST, BUT A BLUE TRAWLER HAS SINCE BLASTED THE WK. REST OF SHIP IS AN EMPTY SHELL STANDING IN 20FT OF WATER, PROUD OF SURFACE AND VERY STRONG. LIES ROUGHLY NW/SE. (UNDERMARINE OPERATIONS 5.3.72). INS AS DWPA. BR STD.

**H1270/76 2.3.76 THREE SMALL RECTANGULAR BLOCKS SHOWING ABOVE THE LEVEL OF MLW, CENTRED ON 585215.5N, 025449.2W AND EXTENDING FOR A LENGTH OF ABOUT 50MTRS. THE THREE BLOCKS ARE IN LINE BROADSIDE TO BROADSIDE AND ORIETATED 174/354DEGS. (ORDNANCE SURVEY AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY 73/137 DTD 16.5.73 FOR PHOTOPLOT PG PG 1428-LP1).

**3.7.80 COVERED BY LEGEND: 'OBSTRUCTION - SEE NOTE' ON NCS 35, 2165.

**27.8.92 STERN & BOWS CUT OFF & REMOVED. REMAINING SECTIONS VISIBLE AT LOW WATER. (DIVE SCAPA FLOW, WKS OF SCAPA FLOW).

POSITIONS BELOW THIS POINT ARE IN DEGREES, MINUTES AND DECIMALS OF A MINUTE

**5.10.10 LOCATED IN 5852.2032N, 0254.9179W [WGD]. LEAST M/B DEPTH 1.1MTRS. (FATHOMS LTD, POST SDC BATHY REPROCESSING). DATA NOISY AND COVERAGE POOR. AMEND POSN. COVERED BY LEGEND: 'OBSTRUCTIONS'. NCA.

Chart Symbol : OB

Charting Comments : LEGEND: 'OBST'N - SEE NOTE', OBSTN NOT CHARTED

Date Last Amended : 05/10/2010

Date Position Last Amended : 05/10/2010

Sitename : Martis: East Weddell Sound, Scapa Flow, Orkney

Source :

Scapa Flow East in WGS1984 at 2m resolution Bathymetry Id 2010-27833_ScapaFlowArea2a_2m_SB_WGS84.bag,Fathoms Ltd,2010

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 52.203 N 2 54.918 W The remains of a vessel measuring about 65m long by 12m beam lie on a rocky bottom in 0m – 7m of water. The wreck is oriented northwest to southeast with the stern to the southeast. It appears that the bow and stern sections have been salvaged.

The submerged wreckage has a light covering of short animal turf. The remains can be affected by slight swells but are generally sheltered from tide.

The submerged debris to the stern comprises several large sections of steel ribs and plates, some of which have weight saving apertures. A valve chest with nine valves was also noted.

Parts of the midships section are visible above the water at low tide. There was no evidence of an engine or boilers. Assessment of the visible surface remains indicates the presence of concrete ballast in the fore and aft holds.

Within the broken down wreckage of the bow, a portion of chain, a cleat and several smaller hull fragments laying flush with the seabed were recorded in the debris. There were some lines and an abandoned creel in the wreckage.

Analysis

Historical documents and image confirm that these are the remains of the SS Martis. The bow, stern andsuperstructure were salvaged by Metal Industries in the 1940s (Wood 2008).

A British steel steamship, the SS Martis was built as the SS William Balls for W. D. C. Balls & Son, North Shields in 1894 by Readhead John & Sons Ltd., South Shields. The vessel was renamed the SS Martis in 1929 when bought by Tramp Shipping Development Co., Ltd., London. Purchased by the Admiralty in 1940, the Martis was scuttled as a Blockship in East Weddell Sound on the 14th June 1940.

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

58 52.203 N 2 54.918 W The site was assessed by side scan surveys using a pole-mounted towfish and diver ground-truthedT. he exposure of the remains above the water made scanning the site difficult and the images of the remains are not very clear.

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