Divers uncover shipwreck of Glasgow vessel almost 140 years after it vanished without trace

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A SHIPWRECK mystery has been solved after divers discovered a vessel from Glasgow which had sunk nearly 140 years ago.
Dominic Robinson, a former Army officer and military helicopter pilot, captured incredible footage of the wreck.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
4
Explorers have solved the mystery of a Glasgow-built ship which sank nearly 140 years ago
Credit: Jam Press/Rick Ayrton
4
A team of divers went below the waves to scour the wreck site
Credit: Jam Press
4
Dominic Robertson was desperate to know the origins of the doomed ship
Credit: Jam Press
4
A plate with the Cunard Steamship Company logo was key in identifying the vessel
Credit: Jam Press/Rick Ayrton
The 50-year-old set sail with fellow explorers Rick and Andy, skipper James, and crew member Liz.
They carefully examined the site of the wreck and also discovered old crockery, which was key in identifying the wreck.
After finding a plate with the Cunard Steamship Company logo, Dominic was able to reveal that the wreck he found was that of the SS Nantes.
The ship tragically collided with a German sailing vessel, the Theodor Ruger, in November 1988, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Dominic, of Plymouth, Devon, said: 'The Nantes was built in 1874, in Glasgow, and very sadly lasted a mere 14 years before it was sunk.
'It was, when it was sunk, on passage from Liverpool to La Havre in France, carrying cargo of coal.
'Sadly, pretty much everybody who was on board the Nantes died.
'There were only three survivors, two guys who jumped onto the Theodor Ruger and then another guy who stayed on the Nantes and was part of the team that sort of tried to keep it afloat.
'Unfortunately, the Nantes went down about ten hours later in the early hours of the morning and he was the only person who was picked up from that.
'It's quite a sad story.'
Hundreds of pupils cheered on a teacher about to undergo lifesaving brain surgery - by rocking out to ACDC'S Thunderstruck
After the ship went down, it became lost until Dominic and his team discovered it.
Dominic, who has been diving for around 35 years, heard about the unidentified shipwreck from the UK Hydrographic Office.
Afterwards, the "wreck was essentially lost, obviously you're dealing in a period with no satellite navigation", said Dr Bennett.
He added that while the crew tried to save the ship, it "drifted for several hours, before it finally made its way to the bottom, sadly, with many of its crewmen on board".
He said the wreck was lost until a local dive team identified it last year.
Dominic added: 'We've got the size [of this wreck] from the information on the UK Hydrographic Office. We know it's about 78 or 79 metres long.
'We know that there's a Cunard plate from it - so, basically what we're looking for, and we know it's old as well.
'So what you do is you try to find a list of all the Cunard ships that were sunk.
'You then try and narrow them down to a relatively small one, and an old one.
'We obviously know where it sank, so if you can find information about the sinking and the wreck that aligns all those things up, then it's fairly straightforward to identify it.'
The Cunard plate, which Dominic found, was crucial in the ship's identification.
He said: 'Even though the wreck had been dived before, it was never identified, and this small piece of broken plate allowed us to do exactly that.
'The more eagle-eyed amongst you may already have noticed the logo from the famous Cunard shipping line.
'And not surprisingly, this is what gave us the most significant clue.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Edinburgh Live

21 hours ago

• Edinburgh Live

Prince Harry's blunt words of advice from Prince Philip ahead of 'mission'

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Prince Harry fondly remembered the poignant advice his grandfather, Prince Philip, gave him before his deployment to Afghanistan. In April 2006, after joining the Blues and Royals, Harry was commissioned as an Army Officer. In the subsequent year, Harry embarked on active duty, setting off for a 10-week stint in Afghanistan as a forward air controller, tasked with coordinating airstrikes against Taliban forces. His tour was cut short when international media disclosed his whereabouts, necessitating an early return home. Following Prince Philip's passing in 2021, Harry reflected on the sage counsel his grandfather offered prior to his departure for military service. READ MORE - Princess Charlotte 'handed back' lavish gift worth eye-watering £36k READ MORE - Edinburgh Council blasted over 'extremely concerning' £8m deal with convicted landlord Harry recounted: "Going off to Afghanistan, he was very matter of fact and just said: 'Make sure you come back alive'." Post-war, Harry acknowledged that it was Philip who provided him the opportunity to discuss his experiences in Afghanistan, reports the Mirror. Harry further noted: "Then when I came back, there wasn't a deep level of discussion, more a case of: 'Well you made it. How was it?' That's how he was. He was very much a listener, he sort of set the scene for you to be able to share as much as you wanted to share but he would never probe." Prince Philip's straightforward approach to discussing the war may have been influenced by his own military service in the Royal Navy during World War II. Philip initially enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1939 and was swiftly promoted to become one of the youngest first lieutenants at the age of 21. His vessel, the HMS Wallace, played a crucial role in the Allied invasion of Sicily, a turning point in the war. Throughout his military career, Philip held various honorary titles within the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Notably, he was appointed Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Cadet Force, and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps. Furthermore, he underwent pilot training with the RAF and continued to fly until the late 1990s. His grandson, Prince Harry, followed in his footsteps by joining the military in 2005. Upon completing his officer training in April 2006, Harry graduated from the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy. Subsequently, Harry received his commission in a regiment within the Household Cavalry. However, in 2006, his unit announced their scheduled deployment to Iraq the following year, sparking a heated public debate regarding the Prince's safety. Addressing his desire to serve on the front lines, Harry stated: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my a*** back home while my boys are out fighting for their country." Despite the public concerns surrounding his security, the Duke of Sussex was discreetly deployed to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan for ten weeks in late 2007. During this time, he assisted NATO forces as a forward air controller before his tour was prematurely terminated when his location was compromised. Prince Harry's military career saw him rise through the ranks, becoming a lieutenant with the Household Cavalry in April 2008. Later, he transitioned to the Army Air Corps, where he retrained as an Apache pilot. He subsequently returned to Afghanistan in 2012, serving as a helicopter co-pilot and gunner. His military service came to a close in June 2015, when he concluded his career at the rank of captain, following a stint with the Australian military. At the time, General Sir Nicholas Carter, the Chief of the General Staff, praised Harry for his decade-long contributions to the military, noting that he had "achieved much in his 10 years as a soldier".

Daily Mirror

a day ago

• Daily Mirror

Prince Harry's blunt words of advice from key royal ahead of dangerous mission

Prince Harry once recalled the touching words of advice he was told by Prince Philip before he was deployed on a weeks-long tour of Afghanistan in 2007 Prince Harry once recalled the emotional words of advice he received from his grandfather, Prince Philip, before he was deployed on a weeks-long tour of Afghanistan. In April 2006, Harry was commissioned as an Army Officer, just months after joining the Blues and Royals. The following year Harry was sent on active duty, heading off to begin a 10-week deployment in Afghanistan working as a forward air controller, coordinating airstrikes on Taliban positions. However, his tour came to an abrupt end and he was forced to fly home early, after international media revealed his location. In a documentary released in the months after Prince Philip's death in 2021, Harry reflected on the wisdom his grandfather imparted on him before he left for his duties. ‌ ‌ Harry said: 'Going off to Afghanistan, he was very matter of fact and just said: 'Make sure you come back alive'.' After returning from the war, the Duke of Sussex said it was Philip who gave him the space to talk about his service in Afghanistan. Harry added: 'Then when I came back, there wasn't a deep level of discussion, more a case of: 'Well you made it. How was it?' That's how he was. He was very much a listener, he sort of set the scene for you to be able to share as much as you wanted to share but he would never probe.' Prince Philip's candidness about the war perhaps came from the fact that the late Duke of Edinburgh served in the Royal Navy during World War II. Philip first joined the Royal Navy in 1939, and was made one of the youngest first lieutenants at just 21 years old. His ship, the HMS Wallace, was part of the Allied invasion of Sicily - a pivotal moment in the war. He held honorary titles in the Army, Navy, and Air Force and was appointed Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Cadet Force and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps. He also received pilot training with the RAF and continued flying until the late 1990s. ‌ His grandson Prince Harry joined the military in 2005, and completed his officer training in April 2006, when he graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy. Harry was then commissioned in a regiment within the Household Cavalry. His unit announced in 2006 that they were scheduled to be deployed in Iraq the following year, causing a huge public debate over the Prince's safety. ‌ Speaking of his desire to serve on the front lines, Harry said: 'There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my a*** back home while my boys are out fighting for their country.' Despite the public discourse over his security, the Duke of Sussex was secretly deployed for ten weeks to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan in late 2007, assisting NATO forces as a forward air controller, before his tour was cut short when his location was exposed. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant with the Household Cavalry in April 2008, before the Duke of Sussex retrained as an Apache pilot in the Army Air Corps and returned to Afghanistan in 2012 as a helicopter co-pilot and gunner. Harry then ended his military career at the rank of captain in June 2015, following a secondment to the Australian military. General Sir Nicholas Carter, the then-Chief of the General Staff, said that Harry had 'achieved much in his 10 years as a soldier'.

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

• Daily Mail​

Inside Richard Hughes' first year at Liverpool: Anfield chief arrived with daunting to-do list... but here's how club's 'stubborn' mastermind wooed Slot, kept hold of Salah and Van Dijk and squeezed £10m out of Real Madrid for Alexander-Arnold

There was a knock at the door and Arne Slot opened it. The man standing behind it was a suited-and-booted Glasweigan chap and he walked in, chunky ring-binder under arm ready for his host to stick the kettle on or pour a bottle of red, looking like a teacher about to give a lesson.