Hiiu Shoal ( et, Hiiu madal) or Nekmangrund is a
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
located in the
Baltic Sea, off the northwestern shores of
Hiiumaa Island.
It is known as ''Neckmansgrund'' in
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, as ''Nekmangrund'' in
Russian and as ''Neckmangrund'' in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, the
loan translation
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
in Estonian being ''Näkimadalad''.
The submerged shoal is 9 kilometers long and 5.5 kilometers wide. Its shallowest point is only 1.2 meters deep at the time of the
lowest astronomical tide.
History
Since it is a dangerous shoal for ships entering the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
while approaching
St. Petersburg, the ''Nekmangrund'' —a
lightship of the
Russian Hydrographic Office
The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ( rus, Управление навигации и океанографии Министер ...
, was anchored on the reef until 1941.
During the war, the lightship Nekmangrund ("Hiiumadal" Estonian) was ordered to leave the shoal and return to Tallinn. During the night of June 23, 1941, at 1:30 in the night, it was hit by a German torpedo and sunk with the loss of at least 6 lives (there was confusion about who actually was aboard at the time).
The wreck of the ship lies now on the bottom of the Hiiu Shoal.
The , a cargo ship of the
United Kingdom, ran aground on the Nekmangrund Shoal on 19 June 1933. She was refloated a week later.
In 1984 Estonian writer
Herman Sergo
Herman Sergo (1 October 1911 Jausa, Käina Parish, Hiiu County – 28 September 1989) was an Estonian writer. His works depict mainly the life of seafarers and coastal dwellers.
Until 1932, he worked as a sailor on Swedish and Finnish long-dista ...
published the novel ''Näkimadalad'', whose title is based on the name of the shoal. In his three-volume work Sergo portrays the tragic fate of the
Estonian Swedes of
Reigi
Reigi (german: Roicks) is a village in Hiiumaa Parish, Hiiu County in northwestern Estonia.
History
In 1984 Estonian writer Herman Sergo published the novel ''Näkimadalad'', whose title is based on the name of the Nekmangrund shoal. In his th ...
village, located to the south of the shoal on Hiiumaa Island, which were deported in the 18th century to
Southern Ukraine
Southern Ukraine ( uk, південна Україна, translit=pivdenna Ukrayina) or south Ukraine refers, generally, to the oblasts in the south of Ukraine.
The territory usually corresponds with the Soviet economical district, the Southern E ...
following a
Russian Imperial decree.
See also
*
Kõpu Lighthouse
*
List of shipwrecks in 1933
The list of shipwrecks in 1933 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1933.
January
1 January
3 January
4 January
5 January
6 January
8 January
15 January
17 January
19 January
...
*
Russian lightvessels
References
Shoals of the Baltic Sea
Landforms of Estonia
{{Estonia-geo-stub