South Africa: Goede Hoop, Hoogergeest, Orange, Dumra & Bloemfontein shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Magna shipwreck in Luderitz, Namibia

June 5:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1692: A north-westerly gale blew into Table Bay in the Western Cape resulting in three vessels wrecking near the mouth of the Salt River: 

• Goede Hoop, a Dutch pinnace

• Hoogergeest, a Dutch pinnace

• Orange, a British East Indiaman

1943: Dumra, this British steam-powered ship was torpedoed by U-198 about 100 km from St Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal. The ship lost its bow and initially stayed afloat allowing some men to remain on board whilst others abandoned ship in the lifeboats. Ten minutes later a coup de grâce was fired. In total, 26 crew members died, and the remaining 66 survivors landed at St Lucia.

1967: Bloemfontein, this steam-powered South African naval minesweeper was scuttled in False Bay in the Western Cape. The wreck lies at a maximum depth of 55 m and experienced technical divers can dive on it.

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South Africa: Oliphant, Ann & Eliza, Tarleton, Reflector, Sembilan & Mauritius 2 shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

April 17:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1656: Oliphant, this Dutch wooden sailing vessel wrecked in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1796: Ann & Eliza, this wooden sailing ship wrecked in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. Only five of the 40 on board survived.

1818: Tarleton, this British ship wrecked near the Castle in Table Bay in the Western Cape. Very little is known about it.

1851: Reflector, this British wooden sailing barque wrecked on a reef off St Helena Bay in the Western Cape. There is however one report that claims it sprung a leak and was lost near Saldanha Bay instead.

1943: Sembilan, this Dutch steam-powered cargo ship was sunk by the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci south east of Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal, over 300 km from the shore.

The Sembilan (1943), date and location unknown

It was loaded with munitions and exploded when it was struck by a torpedo. Only one crew member survived of the complement of 86. The Leonardo da Vinci would terrorize the eastern coastline of South Africa for the next week, claiming a further three ships.

1980: Mauritius 2, this motor-powered freighter foundered offshore, north of Durban off the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

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South Africa: Bato & Spray shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

January 8:

Staaten Generaal under Vice-Admiral Pieter Melville.
The Staaten Generaal was renamed 'Bato' after it had finished serving in the North Sea and was moved to Cape Town

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1806: Bato, this 74-gun Dutch ship of the line was scuttled on Long Beach in Simons Town in False Bay in the Western Cape. The Bato was a 74-gun Dutch ship of the line built in 1784 in the Rotterdam shipyards. Initially named Staaten Generaal, she was renamed Bato after completing her service for the Dutch in the North Sea.

Edges of burnt timber on the Bato (1806) in 2012

She served in defending Amsterdam and then as part of the East India squadron, travelling between Cape Town and Batavia. On 27 February 1804, the Bato returned to Table Bay and would never leave South African waters again. Deemed unseaworthy, the vessel was used as a floating battery to defend Simon's Town.

What remains of the main site of the wreck of the Bato (1806) is visible on satellite images, with much kelp having grown over it

The crew was ordered to burn it when the Dutch lost the Battle of Blaauwberg to the British and a new occupation became inevitable. Today very little of the wreck remains, but because it is a very shallow wreck in a sheltered bay, it has seen been the subject of many maritime archaeological projects. Timber and conglomerated iron and kelp patches make this wreck visible on satellite images too. The unit last inspected this wreck in November 2020.

One of the Bato's (1806) guns which stands in front of the Simon's Town post office

1906: Spray, this wooden steam-powered fishing ketch wrecked on North Patch Reef at Bird Island in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. Two lives were lost as a result of the wrecking.

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