SS ''Hispania'' was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

triple-expansion A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

engine steamer built in Belgium in 1912. She sank in the

Sound of Mull The Sound of Mull is a sound between the Inner Hebridean island of Mull and mainland Scotland. It forms part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Sound of Mull Project is a Scottish Sustainable Marine Environment Initiative (SSMEI) spatial plan of Argyl ...

on 18 December 1954 after striking a rock.

Career

''Hispania'' was built by the Antwerp Engineering Co Ltd, Hoboken, Antwerp, Belgium. She was yard number 59. ''Hispania'' was launched in 1912 and completed in December of that year. She was owned by Svenska Lloyd AB. ''Hispania'' was managed by a number of different managers, including H Metcalft, followed by K R Bökman from c1930. During the Second World War, ''Hispania'' was seized by the French authorities. In 1940, she was on a voyage from Kaolack, Senegal via

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, Morocco to Bordeaux, France with a cargo of peanuts. During the voyage, she was attacked and severely damaged. On 2 June 1940, ''Hispania'' was detained in Bordeaux. On 8 October 1940, she was seized by the Vichy Government. On 8 November 1940, an application was made to declare her as a war prize. The crew were allowed to return to Sweden in December 1940, except for her captain and a mechanic. On 15 April 1941, ''Hispania'' was declared a war prize and ownership passed to the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

. Svenska Lloyd AB objected to this decision. On 8 February 1942, ''Hispania'' and ''Sirius'' were ordered to sail to Rotterdam under the command of the Kriegsmarine. On 1 November 1942, the Kriegsmarine ceased command of the ship. The next day, a German '' Schnellboot'' (fast boat) attack left one dead and two seriously wounded. On 19 December 1942, ''Hispania'' was handed back to Svenska Lloyd AB on payment of . She departed Rotterdam on 1 January 1943, bound for

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sinking

On 18 December 1954, ''Hispania'' sank after hitting a reef in a storm. Heading to Varberg, Sweden, from Liverpool she attempted to navigate through the

but hit the Sgeir More (Big Rock) and started to list. The order to abandon ship was given and the crew lowered the lifeboats and rowed to shore. Captain Ivan Dahn refused to leave the ship and chose to go down with it.SS Hispania
/ref> The other twenty crew were saved. At the time, ''Hispania'' was carrying a cargo of

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

, rubber sheeting and steel.

Wreck

The wreck sits, intact and upright, in of clear water, at . The ''Hispania'' can be dived on only during slack water, which is between 1 and 2 hours before high or low water near the Scottish town of

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

. Located in the northern aspects of the Sound of Mull, the Hispania is facing the shore and close to a red channel buoy. The water temperature ranges from 14 °C in summer to as low as 5 °C in winter. In the summer time, a common hazard are the migrating stinging jellyfish that pass over the wreck. Their tentacles often get caught on the shot line and are dangerous to divers. Sound of Mull Remote Sensing Project (SOMAP) was an underwater survey on the behest of Historic Scotland to catalog all sites in the Sound of Mull. Through research and a through sonar survey, SOMAP was able to determine the status of the SS ''Hispania''. Their findings determined that the ship was salvaged throughout the 1950s by Scarborough Sub-Aqua Club and since then the popularity of diving the wreck has resulted in the removal of all non-ferrous artifacts. No archaeological surveys of the site had been undertaken until SOMAP's involvement. The ship's horn was salvaged in the 1960s by a member of Scarborough Sub-Aqua Club and is now on display there. Minor damage was caused by a scallop dredger in 1999 when its fishing gear pulled down one of the masts and caused minor scrape damage. A scour pit caused by currents removing sand and mud from one side of the ship is causing the ship to slowly list into the depression. In November 2002 the wreck of ''Hispania'' was purchased by the Puffin Dive Centre,

Propulsion

''Hispania'' was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine which was built by the North East Marine Engine Co Ltd, Newcastle upon Tyne. It had cylinders of , and diameter by stroke, developing , giving a speed of .

Official number and code letters

Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers. ''Hispania'' had the Swedish Official Number 5396 and used the Code Letter JTCB between 1930 and 1944, and SEWG from 1934.

References

Sources

* - Total pages: 160 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hispania Ships built in Belgium 1912 ships Steamships of Sweden Merchant ships of Sweden Military of Vichy France Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine World War II merchant ships of Sweden Maritime incidents in 1954 Wreck diving sites in Scotland 1954 in Scotland 1912 in Belgium History of Argyll and Bute