SS ''Mahratta'' was a
Brocklebank Line
The Brocklebank Line (formally named Thos. and Jno. Brocklebank) was an English shipping line that operated in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Daniel Brocklebank founded a shipyard in Whitehaven in 1785, and expanded in the following years into ope ...
steamship launched in 1917. She ran aground in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
on the
Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
in October 1939. She was the second and final Brocklebank Line ship with this name. The first
''Mahratta'' suffered a similar fate in 1909. After ''Mahratta'' broke up, the ship was found to be resting on top of the first ''Mahratta''.
History
SS ''Mahratta'' was launched on 20 October 1917.
Its name is an old spelling of
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
. On 6 April 1936, SS ''Matheran'' lost her propeller off
Port Sudan
Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...
. It was decided that ''Mahratta'' would tow ''Matheran'' the to
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
where another ship would tow ''Matheran'' to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
for repairs. Despite ''Matheran'' being a bigger ship than ''Mahratta'', the tow was completed at an average speed of .
Shipwreck
On 9 October 1939, ''Mahratta'' was inbound to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
from
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
when she ran aground on the Goodwins.
[ ''Mahratta'' had originally been bound for ]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 ...
but received new orders at 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 ...
to sail to London.[ ''Mahratta'' left Gibraltar as part of Convoy HG 1 on 26 September 1939.][ The ]Deal
A deal, or deals may refer to:
Places United States
* Deal, New Jersey, a borough
* Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* Deal Lake, New Jersey
Elsewhere
* Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia
* Deal, Kent, a town in England
* Deal, ...
hoveller ''Lady Haig'' was given charge of the salvage operations.[ A tug attempted to move ''Mahratta'' into deeper water the next day, but the plates on her port side buckled and by nightfall ''Mahratta'' had broken in two.][ The crew of ''Mahratta'' were transferred to the steamer ''Challenge'' in four trips. On the third trip, a lifeboat full of luggage salvaged from ''Mahratta'' was taken in tow, but a large wave almost capsized ''Lady Haig'' and the lifeboat was cast adrift after the ten crew from ''Mahratta'' on it were rescued.]Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
.
''Pride of Canterbury'' ferry incident
On 31 January 2008, the roll on roll off passenger ferry '' Pride of Canterbury'' operated by P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...
struck the wreck of ''Mahratta'' while manoeuvring in severe weather into a holding position in The Downs. The ferry suffered extensive damage to her port propeller and had to be assisted to berth in Dover. It is not clear whether the wreck site named in the MAIB
maib (BC „Moldova Agroindbank” S.A.) is Moldova’s largest commercial bank and lender.
Background
MAIB started operations in 1991 as a joint-stock company by taking over assets and clients from the Soviet-era Agroprom Bank. Today MAIB is the ...
report is that of the first ''SS Mahratta'' or the later vessel.
References
External links
Lloyds Register entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahratta (1917)
Shipwrecks in the Downs
Maritime incidents in October 1939
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
1917 ships