Portal Home The Wrecks New Wreck List Dive Action Dive Cornwall Dive Tenerife Dive Whitby Ron Young Ron Young Books Subsea TV Andrew Jackson Carl Racey Carl Racey II Traction Engine Dive Website Links Copyright

Athos

This dive most defiantly not for the novice, requiring slack water it usually tends to be a dark area irrespective of the weather, powerful torches are required not forgetting a redundancy back up there is lots of wreckage to see but care is needed as it is sometimes fouled with discarded net. The wreck is short of Runswick Bay and makes for an interesting dive despite the drawbacks I have enjoyed many dives on the wreck.

GPS Latitude:	54°32.116' N
GPS Longitude:	000°41.283' 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):	24 m - 27 m
Orientation:	100°

Vessel Type:
Nationality:	Norwegian
Propulsion:	Steamer
Gross Tonnage:	1709 ton
Dimensions (m):	80,77x12,3x5,8
Date Built:	1913
Builder:	Nylands Verksted
Owner:	Concordia B. Hanssen D/S A/S, Flekkefjord
Engine:	Triple expansion engine, one boiler, single screw.
Power:	152 hp
Date of Loss:	26/01/1918
Cause of Loss:	Torpedoed

Hydrographic Data

**H576/18 MAST, VISIBLE 1FT ABOVE LW, IN 543215N, 004130W. - FNM 87/18.
**H4653/18 18.8.18 NO LONGER CONSIDERED A DANGER TO NAVIGATION. (SNO TYNE).
**H3752/26 11.6.26 AMEND TO NDW (1918).
**H4593/59 9.11.59 AMEND TO DW. NC 1200.
**H6331/87 20.1.89 NOT FOUND. NO INDICATION OF WRECKAGE ON DCS3. (LAND & MARINE, HI 414B). DELETED. - NM 596/89.
**HH100/351/10 24.11.95 DIVED IN 543207N, 004117W [WGD] USING GPS. WELL BROKEN UP ON A SILTY SEABED. VISIBILITY OFTEN POOR. HIGH POINTS AT STERN AND MIDSHIPS. STEAM TRIPLE EXPANSION ENGINE. ENGINES AMIDSHIPS. HEIGHT 3MTRS. IN BALLAST.

(A C JACKSON & C A RACEY). INS AS USC 17MTRS. - NM 24/96.

Reference Used: UK Hydrographic Office

Wreck History

Whilst hugging the coast on passage from Rouen to Tees to collect a cargo of coal, and making 10.5 knots on a smooth sea, the collier ATHOS was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine. The Captain and Pilot were on the bridge with a look-out forward. The 2nd engineer and a steward reported seeing the track of a periscope some 400 feet abeam of the vessel about two minutes before the explosion.

The torpedo struck the starboard side going through the stokehold and exploding on the port side. The 3rd engineer and a greaser both in the engine room were lost and presumed killed in the explosion, which also seems to have wreck the engines as they stopped. Within 2 minutes the Pilot and the Mate lowered the port lifeboat and all hands scrambled into it. The pilot reports that there was no panic whatever.

Before the lifeboat was clear the ATHOS went down by the stern and touched the bottom before sinking. All the survivors were picked up in there lifeboat by the escort vessel a.t. DENTARIA within 15 minutes. The mast of the ATHOS was visible 1ft above sea level at low water.

CARL RACEY (SSAC)