Divers solve decades-old mystery of wreck sunk off the UK coast. See the ‘rare’ ship
Off the southern coast of the United Kingdom sat a mysterious shipwreck surrounded by “hundreds of metal bolts.” For decades, the ship went unidentified — until a group of keen-eyed divers visited.
Divers rediscovered the sunken ship off the coast of St Albans Head in 1990 and nicknamed it the “Pin Wreck” after the dozens of metal bolts scattered nearby. The roughly 80-foot-long wooden wreck sits about 90 feet below the surface, Bournemouth University said in an Oct. 11 news release.
For over 30 years, divers have visited the wreck and wondered about its history. What ship is this? How old is it? How did it sink?
Intrigued, a team of underwater archaeologists with Bournemouth University visited the wreck in 2019. Photos show the rusty ship.
“What we observed on our dive meant we could find the clues that could reveal the secrets of the wreck and understand how it ended up on the seabed,” Dave Parham, the underwater archaeologist leading the investigation, said in the release.
The ship’s “layout” reminded the divers of a type of barge known as a “mooring lighter,” the university said. Similarly, artifacts found on the ship suggested it was built in the mid-1800s and had links to the “Portsmouth Dockyard.”
Using these clues, researchers began combing the archives. Their search turned up the plans of two “identical” ships matching the Pin Wreck, but neither was recorded as lost.
The final clue came in the form of a 120-year-old newspaper. The 1903 Shipping Gazette article reported a mooring lighter known as YC8 sinking “off St Albans Head in rough weather,” the university said. “Thirty men had to transfer from the lighter to its tug before it sank.”
Researchers concluded the Pin Wreck was actually YC8, “an Admiralty mooring lighter” built in 1866 and used for salvage operations until it sank in 1903.
“Mooring lighters were towed vessels containing mechanical devices for moving heavy loads,” the university said. “They were used for laying moorings and in salvage work.”
“This is a rare example of a type of service vessel which was essential for maintaining the operations of Britain’s ports in the nineteenth century,” Parham said in the release.
Photos show the 158-year-old ship’s metal bolts, anchor and gears. A video shared on YouTube by Tom Cousins shows the wreck emerging through the murky water.
“The materials the vessel is made from suggest a high-quality build, possibly linked to a Royal dockyard,” Parham said. “The fact it appears to have been lost in service and was carrying substantial haulage equipment means it could offer valuable insight into the role these craft played in our maritime history.”
Researchers “applied for the wreck to be designated as a protected site,” the university said.
St Albans Head is along the Dorset coast of southern England and a roughly 130-mile-drive southwest of London.
This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Divers solve decades-old mystery of wreck sunk off the UK coast. See the ‘rare’ ship."
