''Samson'' was a

crane barge A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. Conventional monohulls are used, but the largest crane vessels are often catam ...

which ran aground off the coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1987. ''Samson'' had left

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on 9 December 1987, bound for

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Though the barge was initially being towed by a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

, the towline parted in near

gale force The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufo ...

conditions while off the Welsh coast early on 11 December. The two men aboard the barge were rescued by an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Sea King flying from

RAF Brawdy RAF Brawdy is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located east of St Davids, Pembrokeshire and south west of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1944 and 1992 being used by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal N ...

, after attempts to reconnect the tow line failed. The barge eventually ran aground at Rams Head, Ardmore, County Waterford, at approximately 7.50 am on 12 December. Dangerous pollutants were removed soon after the barge went aground, but despite questions being raised in the Dáil Éireann, the wrecked barge was not salvaged and remains in situ. The ships' propeller was removed and put on display in the village of Ardmore. In April 2016 the entire jib collapsed into the sea.

Gallery

File:Samson crane ship.JPG, The ''Samson'', seen from the cliffs at Rams Head File:P1010034a.jpg, ''Samson'', after the collapse of the jib, April 2016. File:Propeller from The Samson.jpg, ''Samsons propeller, which was removed and put on display in the town of Ardmore.

References

Dáil Éireann - Volume 377 - 2 February 1988 Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Crane Ship SamsonThe 'Crane Ship' Samson, Ardmore
{{1987 shipwrecks Floating cranes Maritime incidents in 1987 Shipwrecks of Ireland 1959 ships