SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage
June 27:
“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”
1830: Luna, this wooden British brig wrecked just outside of the Knysna Heads in the Western Cape. It left Knysna on this day and despite a smooth bar and fair wind, it had ran aground on the sandbank outside the bar and within two days, drifted into the surf. The crew had abandoned it by this point and it wrecked.
1860: Scotland, this British sailing ship was lost at Montgomery Point at Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape.
1908: Mincio, this Dutch tug either ran aground and was refloated or wrecked at Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape.
1968: Weol-Mi No. 303, this South Korean fishing vessel wrecked on rocks near the Mkambati River mouth in the Eastern Cape.
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| What remained of the Weol-Mi No. 303 (1968) in 2016 |
1994: BOS 400, this French crane barge ran aground on the rocks in Maori Bay near Hout Bay in the Western Cape. The barge was being towed to Cape Town by the Russian tug Tigr when its cables parted during heavy seas, and it drifted onto the rocks. The crew of 18 were rescued by helicopter. Numerous attempts were made to tow it off the rocks, but it could not be saved and was declared a total loss.
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| The NSRI at the wreck of the BOS 400 in Maori Bay, in early 2021, responding to an emergency in which a teenager became injured after jumping off the wreck |
It lies partially on top of the wreck of the Oakburn (1906) and as the BOS 400 breaks apart, the wrecks of the two vessels are becoming mixed. The BOS 400 is a popular tourist attraction with many people enjoying the hike along the coast to view it. There are lots of instances of people climbing onto the wreck to explore the inside and to jump from the wreck into the sea below. However, as the BOS 400 continues to deteriorate the site is becoming much more dangerous, so it is advisable to admire the wreck from a distance instead.
