Dungonnell

Launched from the Belfast yard of McIlwaine and Lewis (Yard No 17) on 23rd January 1883 for the Antrim Iron Ore Company, Belfast the iron steamship Dungonnell measured 158.0′ x 21.7′ x 11.7′ Her tonnage was 284 gross tons, 131 net tons. She was powered by a 2 cylinder compound steam engine by McIlwaine and Lewis delivering 50 registered horse power. In 1898 she was sold to A Blackater of Glasgow who established the Dungonnell Steamship Company, Glasgow. Finally she was sold to a Sunderland owner, George Lindsay, who maintained her registration and operational base in Glasgow.

The Theme was built by McIlwaine and Lewis in Belfast and launched in March 1884, she was Yard No. 21 and of same length, tonnage and general arrangement, and will be a good likeness for the Dungonnell.

The mystery of her loss was only recently solved when the wreck of the Dungonnell was found and identified by Buchan Divers off the mouth of River Ythan. Newspapers from the period report the loss of the Dungonnell which departed the Tyne for Belfast on 23rd February 1903 with a cargo of telegraph poles heading for Belfast via the Pentland Firth. She had a crew of eleven men aboard including her captain T R Hutchison, a native of Sunderland. After she steamed out of the Tyne she was never seen again, lost without trace with all hands. Later research indicated very bad weather off the Aberdeenshire coast the following day and night.

The wreck, in position 57° 17.265’N, 01° 50.992’W has been well known to divers for many years but until 2022 the identity had escaped them. It was known by local fishermen as the ’33 fathom wreck.’ In 2022 a team from Buchan Divers returned to the wreck and, after identifying her cargo of telegraph poles, some excellent research turned up the Dungonnell as a highly likely candidate for the wreck. A further dive to carry out detailed measurements of the wreck confirmed that the dimensions matched the Dungonnell and the mystery was finally solved. It seems that the Dungonnell was caught in bad weather off Ythan and most likely ran aground sometime during 24th March. Damage to the stern of the wreck, with a missing rudder and sheared propeller blades, would indicate that the ship had run aground in the bad weather and later drifted off to sink in it’s current position. She lies upright and substantially in tact in 58 metres with a least clearance of 55 metres oriented 010/190 degrees. The cargo of telegraph poles (See photograph below ) and the two cylinder compound steam engine are clearly visible.

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Buchan Divers – www.buchandivers.com in the preparation of this article.

We would also like to thank Naomi Watson for her permission to use her underwater photographs.