Oban, The Sound of Mull and beyond
SS
16-30m
GPS
N56.28.550-W05.25.190, N56.28.533-W05.25.117, N56.28.55-W05.54.10 56.28?563?N-05.25?00.7?W, 56.28?32?N-05.25?07?W
NORMALLY BUOYED BOW AND STERN, MAY ONLY BE ONE BUOY ON THE WRECK
LAUNCHING FROM PUFFIN SLIP, OR THE SLIP AT
'THE WIDE MOUTHED FROG?' ON THE
OR GANAVAN SANDS
SS Breda was built by the New Waterway Ship Building Company,
Length :- 402.6', Beam :- 58.3', Draught :- 34.7', Weight :- 4837nt.(6941gt)
She was a large ship with three deck levels, Flat bottomed with a Cruiser stern.
Operated by the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company until requisitioned for War Service.
On
3 Hawker Biplanes, 30 De Havilland Moth Biplanes, Military Vehicles, Cement, and a huge range of General cargo, Including 10 of the Aga Khans Race Horses,
After forming in a convoy they arrived in Oban eight days later to await the rest of the Convoy.
On
She was rapidly filling with water, and with assistance from a Tug she was beached in shallow water in
but a storm swept her into deeper water and she sank.
In 1961 the Navy ?wire swept? the wreck to a depth of 28 feet, she was heavily salvaged in the 1960?s and 70?s but is still intact and upright with her Bow in 24m and
Stern in 30m, with an average depth on the deck of 16m ? 22m .
From the Bow:-
Hold no 1 swept clear when bows removed
Hold no 2 4x4 truck and Tiger Moth Aircraft frames
Hold no 3 Cargo and Aircraft parts
Hold no 4 Cement Bags and vehicle parts, and paper Rupees
Hold no 5 - Cement bags and truck parts
You can also find, Toothbrushes. Perfume bottles, Shaving kits, sandals
Spare Tyres and a 4x4 chassis on the Deck.
BE CAREFUL IN THE HOLDS THEY STIR UP QUICKLY AND PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN THEM.
Side Scan of the Breda
On the Seabed off the Port side at the Bow can be found the Bridge and other structures which were knocked off when the wreck was swept.
Lots of life on this wreck, but can be congested as a popular site,
TRANSITS
HMS PORT NAPIER, KYLE OF LOCHALSH
LOCATION :
,57.15.98N 05.41.18W(DEC)
57.15'09" N 05.41'01" W
WRECK DEPTH : 0 - 20 metres
CONDITIONS: Best dived when the sun has risen over the hill.
TIDES: None
SEABED: Silty, easily disturbed
LAUNCH SITE: Kyleakin or Kyle of Lochalsh slipway
MAGAZINE REVIEWS : ?Port Napier wreck tour? ? Diver : February 2000 : p42-44
Port Napier before she was requisitioned for use as a Minelayer
THE HISTORY OF THE VESSEL
Built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson for Port Line, she was taken over by the Admiralty during construction, and converted to a mine layer of the 1st Minelaying Squadron.
During a gale, while at anchor in the Kyle of Lochalsh on
The ship was laden with a lethal cargo of 400(550) mines, and had they gone up, the whole area would have been devastated.
The harbour was cleared of every ship and the local inhabitants evacuated, but no explosion followed and volunteers went back aboard proceeding to disarm the mines and drop them into the sea by way of the stern chutes. However the volunteers had to retreat as the situation soon became worse, and shortly after there was the first explosion followed by an enormous flash which blew out the innards of the ship. After this the ship settled onto her starboard side in
the attitude we see today, her port side showing at low tide.
According to record, steel plating was salvaged for reuse in 1944 and in 1950 the Royal Navy began clearance operations to remove the cargo of mines and some 6000 rounds of ammunition for the 4" guns/Anti Aircraft guns..
Because the Admiralty could not account for the remaining mines and some of the ammunition whether they were all originally loaded as listed or the loading was never fully completed, who knows, the Navy will not sell the wreck and warns off diving.
The wreck lies at Lat. 57 15 59.0N and Long. 05 41 12,0W about 100 metres off the shores of Skye. With her portside plates removed she can be easily dived on by Club Divers, being visible above the water at most times excepting high water. She normally has a permanent buoy on at the Forward mast at a depth of 6m ? 8m to the right are the two guns, one at 8m and the other at 18m.,aft of this it becomes more tangled and it is easy to find yourself inside the wreck, It can be gloomy and if other divers are on the wreck gets stirred up easily.
You can enter the wreck via a large hole where the superstructure meets the seabed. Fining along a companionway for some 10 metres before emerging beyond the superstructure, behind this are several openings by which to gain access to the mine laying corridors. Going further astern crossing over the decked openings of holds 5 and 6 you come to the rounded stern where the mine laying doors are visible. This is the exit point for more intrepid divers who have finned along the rail corridors and an entry for others to fin for'ard.
On the seabed can be seen some of the bogeys with ropes still attached which were used to move the mines on rails inside the ship. These also doubled as anchors for the mines on the seabed.
The wreck is quite extensive and to view her in the entirety will take more than a couple of dives.
Current and Tides aren?t a problem although care should be taken not to stray too far from the shelter of the Bay, as the Kyle is known for strong tidal currents.