''Dana'' was a Danish research vessel, best known for the circumnavigation of the world in the
third Dana expedition 1928–1930.
Construction and design
It was built as an
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
in 1917 (HMT John Quilliam).
Danish sservice
In 1921, HMT ''John Quilliam'' was sold to the
Danish Government
The Cabinet of Denmark ( da, regering) has been the chief executive body and the government of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1848. The Cabinet is led by the Prime Minister. There are around 25 members of the Cabinet, known as "ministers", all of wh ...
. She was subsequently rigged as a deep-sea research
trawler. She was renamed ''Dana II'', to avoid confusion with the motor schooner ''
Dana'', which had served on the first and second
Dana expedition
The Dana expeditions were four Danish research expeditions undertaken by the ''Dana I'' and ''Dana'' ''II''. They were funded in part by the Carlsberg Foundation and led by Johannes Schmidt. The first three expeditions took place from 1920 to 19 ...
s. ''Dana II'' replaced the previous Danish research vessel
''Thor'', served until 1935 and was herself succeeded by
''Dana III'', built in 1937.
Collision and loss
''Dana'' sank on the 22nd June 1935 in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
following a collision with the German
trawler ''Pickhuben'', H.G.92 of
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
, about 70 km west of
Ringkøbing
Ringkøbing (older spelling ''Ringkjøbing'') is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. It has a population of 9,894 (1 January 2022). . The collision happened in dense fog at 6:07 AM when ''Pickhuben'' rammed ''Dana'' with great force about amidships. None of the 22 persons onboard ''Dana'' were injured in the collision and all managed to escape to ''Pickhuben''. The ship sank ten minutes after Captain Hansen left the ship, the last man to do so. All personal belongings and large amounts of scientific material were lost. Dana's captain directed ''Pickhuben'' to the nearby
lightship at
Horns Reef
Horns Rev is a shallow sandy reef of glacial deposits in the eastern North Sea, about off the westernmost point of Denmark, Blåvands Huk. where the following telegram was radioed to the Danish Government:
''"Dana hit by Trawler Pickhuben in fog at 6 AM this morning, sank immediately, all hands saved onboard the trawler, course towards Esbjerg. Dana lies at approx. 30 metres of water, 55 degrees, 55 minutes northern latitude, approx. 7 degrees eastern longitude. A large buoy with flag was deployed by the trawler at the spot."''
At the following inquiry in Esbjerg and later also in Hamburg, full responsibility for the collision was attributed to the navigator on ''Pickhuben'', who had steamed too fast in the dense fog and had failed to react to ''Dana's'' warning signals.
The wreck of ''Dana'' was found in 2005 on the northern side of
Horns Reef
Horns Rev is a shallow sandy reef of glacial deposits in the eastern North Sea, about off the westernmost point of Denmark, Blåvands Huk. on the Danish west coast.
References
{{reflist
Research vessels of Denmark
Ships built in Selby
Maritime incidents in 1935
Shipwrecks in the North Sea
Maritime accidents involving fog
1917 ships