South Africa: Anne Jane, Kent, Elise, Magdala, Pemba & Castillo de Bellver shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Snowgoose wreck in Namibia

August 6:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1856: Anne Jane, this vessel wrecked on Woodstock Beach in Table Bay in the Western Cape. Very little is known about the vessel as well as the event. 

1856: Kent, this wooden-hulled sailing barque wrecked near the Salt River Mouth in Table Bay in the Western Cape after its cables parted and it was driven ashore. 

1863: Elise, the wooden-hulled brig wrecked near Mouille Point in Table Bay in the Western Cape.

1897: Magdala, the wooden-hulled sailing barque left Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape on this day, destined for Delagoa Bay (modern day Maputo) in Mozambique. However, the vessel and those that were on board were never seen or heard from again. 

1926: Pemba, the steel-hulled steam-powered ship foundered south-east of Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape after being swamped in heavy weather. Although the crew took to the boats and landed on the beach, one man lost his life.  

1983: Castillo de Bellver, the Spanish super tanker foundered about 70 km west of Dassen Island in the Western Cape, after a fire broke out onboard the vessel. Although the crew were saved, three members could not be accounted for and were presumed to have perished in the fire. The ship burnt intensely, and eventually bad weather broke its back, with the stern section sinking. The bow section remained afloat upturned, and divers were dropped on it by helicopter to secure a tow rope. The tug John Ross towed it further out to sea, and it was scuttled using explosives in deeper waters. It was carrying 252,000 tons of crude oil at the time and it is believed that approximately 60,000 tons were released into the ocean and/or burned during the event. The oil spill initially looked as if it was going to wash up on the coast which would have caused a massive marine disaster however the wind eventually blew it out to sea where it dispersed. It is believed that both its bow and stern sections are releasing oil to this day.

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South Africa: Elise & Evdokia shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Irmgard wreck in Luderitz, Namibia

June 12:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1879: Elise, this German schooner wrecked in a south westerly gale near Struisbaai in the Western Cape. 

1979: Evdokia, this Greek cargo ship was run aground to become a wreck, about 10 km east of the Storm’s River Mouth in the Eastern Cape. It had started taking on water when the decision was made to run it aground. Helicopters airlifted most of those on board to safety near Plettenberg Bay, but the captain and five officers remained on board to try and run it back to Algoa Bay. This was however unsuccessful, and the ship had to be run aground off Robbehoek, near the Storm’s River mouth. The six that remained on board lost their lives.

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South Africa: Stavenisse, Bennebroek, Amelia Mulholland, Mary, Lucy, Elise, Olive & Ankoveld shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

Simferopol shipwreck in Namibia

February 16:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1686: Stavenisse, this Dutch East Indiaman wrecked at what is presumed to be near the Mzimkulu River mouth at Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal resulting in the loss of eleven lives from the crew of 71. The rest of the crew encountered survivors of the Good Hope (1685) and the Bona Ventura (1686). They worked together to build the boat ‘Centaurus’ which was officially launched on the 17th of February, 1687. On the first of March 1687, they safely arrived at the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Governor at the time, Simon van der Stel, had the Centaurus refitted and sent back to look for more survivors of other wrecks.

1713: Bennebroek, this Dutch East Indiaman wrecked near the Mtana River near Hamburg in the Eastern Cape. The vessel was disabled in a gale while homeward bound from Ceylon. It ran aground in broad daylight and began to break up immediately. Of the 150 lives on board, only 57 Europeans and 20 enslaved people from Malabar (south-western India) managed to reach the shore. The survivors started walking to the Cape, but most turned back after reaching an unfordable river. Of those that continued, only one (although some sources suggest up to five) person(s) reached the Cape alive on the 26th of February 1714, more than a year after the wrecking. Those who turned back lived near the wreck until June 1713, trading iron and copper for food with the local people, who treated the survivors with kindness. When this supply was exhausted the survivors made another attempt to reach the Cape, but after several weeks the survivors, now reportedly only consisting of 7 Europeans, found refuge with another friendly group of local people. On the 4th of September 1714, an English decked boat reached the Cape from Delagoa Bay with 4 of these 7 survivors on board. They had been found living in a local village near the mouth of a river. A subsequent six-month search by the galiot Postlooper for the wreck and remaining 3 survivors was unsuccessful. Although there are some reports that claim in 1716 three Englishmen were reported to be living on that coastline with wives and children and it is possible that these three men were those last three survivors. The wreck was excavated in 1985 under a National Monument’s Council permit. 

1850: Amelia Mulholland, this wooden barque wrecked at Port Elizabeth in Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape after its cables parted in a south-easterly gale.

1853: Mary, this schooner wrecked in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape during a south-easterly gale after its cables parted. One life was lost during the event. 

1864: Lucy, this vessel wrecked during a south-easterly gale, at night, on Birkenhead Rock at Danger Point near Gansbaai in the Western Cape. 

1878: A south-easterly gale claimed two vessels on this day in East London in the Eastern Cape: 

• Elise, a wooden barque wrecked near the mouth of the Buffalo river,

• Olive, an unknown vessel type, wrecked on East Beach with the loss of all six of the crew. 

2019: Ankoveld, this South African fishing vessel capsized near St Helena Bay off the west coast in the Western Cape. All 10 that were on board were rescued.

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