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SS ''Castilian'' was a British
cargo
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
and is now a dangerous wreck in the Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
off the coast of North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
. She was built in 1919 to a standard First World War design. In 1943 while carrying munitions
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
she struck rocks off The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey
The Skerries (Welsh (language), Welsh: ''Ynysoedd y Moelrhoniaid'') () coming from the Old Norse word are a group of sparsely vegetated rocky islets (skerry, skerries), with a total area of about lying offshore from Carmel Head at the north ...
and sank.
An exclusion zone under section 2 of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.
Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or ...
(Prohibition on approaching dangerous wrecks) forbids scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
within of the wreck because her explosive cargo remains dangerous.
Namesakes
''Castilian'' was owned by Westcott & Laurance Line, a subsidiary ofEllerman Lines
Ellerman Lines was a United Kingdom, UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller sh ...
. She was the second of three Ellerman ships to bear the name.
Ellerman's first ''Castilian'' had been Bullard, King & Co's '' Umbilo'', which Ellerman bought in 1909 and renamed. torpedoed and sank her in the North Atlantic northwest of Ireland in 1917.
Ellerman's third ''Castilian'' was built for the company in 1955. From 1963 onwards she was renamed several times. In 1971 she was sold to Maldivian-registered owners and renamed ''Maldive Freedom''.
Other earlier ships have been named ''Castilian'' but were not Ellerman ships.
History
SirRaylton Dixon
Sir Raylton Dixon (8 July 1838 – 28 July 1901), was a shipbuilding magnate from Middlesbrough on the River Tees who served as Mayor of Middlesbrough.
Background and early life
Dixon was one of the seven children of Jeremiah II Dixon (1804â ...
& Company built the ship in Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
to the Shipping Controller
Shipping Controller was a post created by the Lloyd George Coalition Government in 1916 under the New Ministries and Secretaries Act (6 & 7 George 5 c.68) to regulate and organize merchant shipping in order to supply the United Kingdom with the m ...
's standard Type C design. Richardsons Westgarth & Company
Richardsons Westgarth & Company was a leading British shipbuilding and marine engineering business. The Company was based in Hartlepool and was a major employer in the area.
History
The company was established in 1832 by Thomas Richardson as a ...
supplied her triple-expansion steam engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up ...
.
The Shipping Controller named all merchant ships with the prefix "War". Sources disagree as to whether ''Castilian'' was built as ''War Acacia'' or ''War Ocean''.
''Castilian''s UK official number
Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...
was 143384. Until 1933 her code letters
Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...
were KCJF. In 1934 these were replaced with the wireless Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
GBVX.
In the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
''Castilian'' sailed between Britain, Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
and Allied ports in the Mediterranean from September 1939 until June 1940. From July 1940 until November 1942 she repeatedly crossed the North Atlantic: sailing west in OB and ON convoys
The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic.
History
From 7 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, OB convoys saile ...
and returning from Canada or the USA in HX or SC convoys. In November 1942 she sailed from Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
to Gibraltar, returning in January 1943.
On 11 February 1943 ''Castilian'', laden with munitions, left Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
unescorted. The next day she struck rocks off The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey
The Skerries (Welsh (language), Welsh: ''Ynysoedd y Moelrhoniaid'') () coming from the Old Norse word are a group of sparsely vegetated rocky islets (skerry, skerries), with a total area of about lying offshore from Carmel Head at the north ...
and sank.
Wreck
In 1987 a Royal Navy clearance vessel spent several months removing unexploded ordnance from nearby Fydlyn Bay that was believed to have come from the wreck. In 1997 the site of the wreck on East Platters Rocks was designated under section 2 of theProtection of Wrecks Act 1973
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.
Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or ...
(Prohibition on approaching dangerous wrecks) because of her dangerous cargo. An exclusion zone prohibits scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
within of the wreck.
See also
* – 1946 shipwreck in the English Channel that exploded during a salvage operation in 1967 * – 1944 shipwreck in the Thames Estuary that still contains a dangerous cargo of explosives.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castilian (1919) 1919 ships 1943 in Wales Maritime incidents in February 1943 Protected Wrecks of Wales Ships built on the River Tees Ships of the Ellerman Lines World War II shipwrecks in the Irish Sea Steamships of the United Kingdom World War II merchant ships of the United Kingdom