African Transport
This dive is most definitely not for the novice, requiring slack water it usually tends to be a dark area irrespective of the weather, powerful torches are required (with a second redundancy back advised). The wreck is quite a large one and stands proud of the seabed, there is a mass of steel plates, pipes and valves surrounding the engine and boilers, simply lots to see, if you don"t mind a bit of decompression. It is often fouled with discarded trawl net and monofilament line necessitating great care. The wreck requires numerous dives to be able to appreciate its size, I have enjoyed many dives on the wreck even if the conditions seem quite grim.
| GPS Latitude: | 54°32.908" N |
| GPS Longitude: | 000°42.484" W |
| System: | WGS84 |
| Division: | 1"=1000 |
| Local Position: | 5 miles north of Whitby and 2 miles off shore |
| Accuracy: | precise 10m~40m |
| Chart No. / Title: | 134 / Tees to Scarborough |
| Seabed Depth (m): | 28 m - 35 m |
| Orientation: | 100° |
| Vessel Type: | Armed Merchant Ship |
| Nationality: | British |
| Propulsion: | Steamer |
| Gross Tonnage: | 4482 grt |
| Dimensions (m): | 117,3 x 15,8 x 8,3 |
| Date Built: | 1913 |
| Builder: | Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., West Hartlepool, Yard No 206 |
| Owner: | (Houlder Bros) Empire Transport Co. Ltd |
| Engine: | Steam Triple Expansion by Richardsons, Westgarth & Co Ltd, Sunderland, three single boilers, single screw. |
| Power: | 320 nhp |
| Date of Loss: | 25 / 06 / 1918 |
| Cause of Loss: | Torpedoed |
| Hydrographic Data | |
| **POSN 4M N OF WHITBY & 2M OFFSHORE. (MASTER,
B OF T WR 8/1645). Reference Used: UK Hydrographic Office |
| Wreck History | |
|
Built for Empire Transport Co. Ltd. (Houlder Bros), West Hartlepool; Yard No 206; Launch Date 21/04/1913; Fitted with 1 x 4.7 Q.F. stern gun; Vessel torpedoed by UB.88 at 9.05 p.m. (Der Kreig Zur See). The torpedo struck the vessel on the starboard side in the engine room and stokehold, vessel sank head first after a towing attempt, approximately 2 hours at 10.52 p. m.; 3 lives lost; Wreck now owned by E. Pendleton & J. P. Stevenson (1976). There is a WWI gun mounted on Whitby"s West Cliff, donated by J. P. Stevenson, which is said to be from the wreck of the AFRICAN TRANSPORT, but is in fact must be from somewhere else, as the original gun from this vessel is still on the seabed to this day, and is of a differ ant type. CARL RACEY (SSAC) |
| General Information |
On the 25th June at 3.30 p.m. carrying a cargo of coal bound for Gibraltar, the AFRICAN TRANSPORT left South Shields in a convoy making 6 knots on a S.E. course. She was one of 15 cargo vessels and was placed towards the middle, on the starboard side of the convoy, with 4 escort trawlers on the starboard beam bow, and a Quarter Destroyer ahead. When at 9.05 p.m. with Whitby High Light coming into view, a large explosion occurred on the starboard side.
A torpedo from a German U-boat, which must have been inshore of the convoy in Runswick Bay, struck the steamer just below the water line in the area of the boiler room on the starboard side. The force of the explosion killed three of the engine room crew, blew out three of the hull plates, bulked up the upper decks amidships, even smashing one of the starboard lifeboats.
The surviving crew left in the three life boats, the Master’s boat closed on the trawler ELSIE and asked for them to take his vessel in tow with a view to beaching her in Whitby Bay. The captain of the ELSIE referred him to another trawler which was a considerable distance away. On arrival of M.L. 43 from Whitby the latter put the Master and other officers on board the AFRICAN TRANSPORT and tow lines were got out. It was not until a full hour after the explosion that the ship was taken in tow by two trawlers, of which the ELSIE was one. Soon afterwards the vessel sunk by the head without list some two miles SW of Kettleness, the Master and crew were taken off by the trawler HUMBER and landed at Tees Port.
The rest of the crew, whom had being picked up by the other escort trawlers, were landed at Immingham. The master of the AFRICAN TRANSPORT was of the opinion that had the trawler ELSIE taken his vessel in tow at once as requested she might have been beached in Whitby Bay. It would be observed that a whole hour and twenty minutes elapsed between the time the explosion occurred and the time the vessel was finally abandoned. At no time was the submarine sighed. The ships wireless transmission code book and Mercantile Tables No 15 were thrown overboard in a weighted bag.
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Click on the photograph to see a larger photograph in its own window Photograph courtesy of Carl Racey |
© Carl Racey & Colin Brittain 1999 - 2022