The SS ''Drummond Castle'' was a

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 ...

built in 1881 by John Elder & Co. of Govan,

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, for D. Currie & Co. and later operated by the Castle Mail Packet Company. The ship sank on 16 June 1896 off

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of governm ...

Sinking

The ''Drummond Castle'' departed

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa, on 28 May 1896 for London via Delagoa Bay, Natal and Las Palmas, with 143 passengers and 102 crew. On 16 June the ''Drummond Castle'' was off

, the sea was calm but foggy. The safe passage past Ushant is to the north, but for an unknown reason the ''Drummond Castle'' sailed between Ushant and

Molène Molène () is an island off the west coast of Brittany and one of the Ponant Isles, making it the largest of an archipelago of twenty islands. In tiers of government it is in Finistère, a department of Brittany in north-western France – spe ...

. Around 23:00 the ''Drummond Castle'' struck rocks at the south entrance to the Fronveur Sound, within four minutes the ship had sunk. Two crew were rescued by

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

fishermen; one passenger managed to reach Molène. The other 242 crew and passengers were drowned. The main cargo was 1,943 bales of wool, skins, hides and horns, weighing 450 tons; the rest was 250 tons of coal. A

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

wreck inquiry was held in July 1896 in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. The inquiry concluded that the loss was due to "careless or unskillful navigation".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drummond Castle, SS Ocean liners Ships built on the River Clyde 1881 ships Maritime incidents in 1896 Shipwrecks of France Shipwrecks in the English Channel Ships of the Union-Castle Line