Sunday, 31 December 2023

South Africa: Suffren, Hiddeskel & Stuart Star shipwrecks

SAHRA Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage

December 17:

“This day in our shipwreck and aeronautical wreck history”

1845: Suffren, this wooden sailing barque parted from its cables during a north-easterly gale in the outer anchorage of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and wrecked.

1902: Hiddeskel, this 4-masted sailing barque struck a reef between Hout Bay and Camps Bay in the Western Cape and after manning the pumps for two hours, had to be abandoned before reaching Green Point in the hopes of being beached, as the water had gained on the pumps too much.

1937: Stuart Star, this steam powered refrigerator ship ran aground and wrecked after encountering dense fog at Hood Point in East London in the Eastern Cape.

The Stuart Star (1937) after having run aground at Hood Point

At the time of wrecking, it was the largest refrigerated cargo ship in the world. Other than the dense fog, the enquiry found that there was an absence of sounding equipment on board to determine depth accurately. Most of the cargo and some of the equipment was salvaged before the bottom opened up and it eventually broke up.

The Stuart Star (1937) being reclaimed by the sea, date unknown

1997: A Ramaer Cargo Ilyushin Il 18D (registration no. RA-75554) failed to take-off from Johannesburg International Airport and overshot the runway, with the left main gear collapsing and its left wing separating and catching fire.

RA-75554 after having overshot the runway

The investigation found that the plane was overloaded by 5 tons and its centre of gravity was outside of the plane’s limits.

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