SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
Skeleton Coast, Namibia
September 8:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1854: Rachel, this sailing schooner foundered in Hondeklip Bay in Namaqualand in the Northern Cape. Very little is known about this vessel.
1875: Aurora, this wooden sailing cutter wrecked south east of Cape Recife in the Eastern Cape.
1903: Congella, this steam-powered ship wrecked in the outer anchorage of East London in the Eastern Cape.
1936: Hogni, this steel steam-powered whaler was scuttled just beyond the three-mile limit, off the coast of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. Its scuttling was observed by 160 spectators on board the SS Panther.
2009: Seli 1, this Panamanian bulk carrier was driven ashore at Bloubergstrand in Table Bay in the Western Cape just after midnight in a strong westerly. It had suffered an engine failure and whilst at anchorage, a strong westerly picked up and blew it from its anchorage. The crew of 25 were promptly rescued by the NSRI and the Seli 1 sustained structural damage. Salvage operations attempted to remove the 600,000 litres of oil onboard the ship and over the years the SAMSA slowly removed parts of the wreck before it disappeared below the water in 2013. An oil spill that occurred during the salvage work reportedly resulted in the slicking of 219 birds.
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