PORT OF NGQURA, South Africa (15 July 2004) -- The mysterious shipwreck lying in the path of dredging operations at the new Port of Ngqura has finally been identified - and has given her salvors one or two surprises. The wreck is that of the British cargo ship County of Pembroke, wrecked in Algoa Bay in 1903 and towed out to the Coega River mouth and scuppered the following year, according to Port Elizabeth Museum maritime archaeologist Jenny Bennie. She was positively identified this week after divers brought up a section of her bow on which the faint outline of her name could be discerned - long after the metal letters once fixed to the hull had disappeared. When scuba divers working at the new port site came across the wreck two months ago, it was initially thought the wreck was that of the John N Gamewell, a smaller American brigantine which sank in the area in 1880, after a fire on board. Bennie said documentary research subsequently revealed the wreck's secrets. "The whole thing has changed totally. It's quite intriguing," she said. The County of Pembroke, a 65m-long, three-masted iron barque, under Captain J Parry, was moored in Algoa Bay on November 14, 1903, when one of the region's notorious south-easterly gales came up and wrecked her and six other ships off North End Beach near Broad Street. | | A similar storm in 1902 that wrecked 32 vessels was the worst in history and is better remembered. The wreck, lying in what is now 5m of water in the middle of the new harbour near the eastern breakwater, must be removed before dredging work can be completed, according to National Ports Authority resident engineer Chris Matchett. Scuba divers are currently removing loose items from the debris field around the wreck. The bilge section of the hull appeared to be almost entirely intact and it might be possible to move it whole from the site, Matchett said. Although the cutter-suction dredger working inside the harbour had to work around the wreck, work on the harbour was on schedule, he said. The ship was carrying a mixed cargo including 100 tons of cement powder. The cement has hardened, while the wooden barrels carrying it have rotted away. In addition to the bow section with the remains of the name, pieces of the ship's masts, its two crow's nests, bollards and pieces of rigging had been brought up, Bennie said. The SA Heritage Resource Agency had agreed that the wreckage would eventually have to be removed completely. SOURCE - Eastern Province Herald |
