South Shields, Trow Point, Richard de Larinaga II

HER Number:
12943

District:
S Tyneside

Site Name:
South Shields, Trow Point, Richard de Larinaga II

Place:
South Shields

Map Sheet:
NZ36NE

Class:
Maritime Craft

Site Type: Broad:
Transport Vessel

Site Type: Specific:
Cargo Vessel

General Period:
Modern

Specific Period:
C20

Form of Evidence:
Wreckage

Description:
This was one of the Larinaga fleet. A 5358 ton cargo and passenger steamship registered in Liverpool. She was attacked by German aircraft on 12th May 1941 and she sank in Frenchmans Bay 500 yards east of Trow Rocks. She has been well dispersed, with only the bow section relatively intact. The rest of the wreckage is scattered over a wide area and is obscured by kelp, but plates, fittings, pipes and ribs can be found. The stern section lies in deeper water further east. Her general depth is 12 metres. She was built in 1929 by Lithgows ltd at Port Glasgow for the Larinaga Steam Ship Co. ltd. Her single propeller was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine. Her machinery was designed and built by R. Rowan & Co. of Glasgow. She had one deck and a superstructure consisting of an 11.6m poop-deck, an 81.5m bridge deck and an 11.6m forecastle. She was sailing in ballast on passage from the Tyne to St. Lawrence, with a crew of thirty five and five passengers when bombed by German aircraft of 12 May 1941. She was taken in tow, but broke her back in the shallow water just off Trow Rocks in South Shields (Spokes and NMR Database states 500yds east of Trow Rocks). Salvage attempts employing explosives have resulted in a collapsed wreck broken up into small pieces. However in winter storms in 1999-2000 ribs from the under section were exposed. Grid reference conversion made 16.11.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 54 59 662 W 001 23 082

Easting:
3859

Northing:
6666

Grid Reference:
NZ38596666

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Peter Collings, 1991, The New Divers Guide to the North-East Coast, page 26; Young, R. (2001) Comprehensive guide to Shipwrecks of the North East Coast (The): Volume Two, Tempus, Gloucestershire. p. 133, Ian T. Spokes Wreck Database, National Monuments Record (908734) Hydrographic Office wreck index; Dave Shaw and Barry Winfield 1988 Dive north east : a Diver guide Page(s)46; 1989 Lloyd's war losses: the Second World War 3 September-14 August 1945, Volumes I and II Page(s)248; Richard and Bridget Larn 1997 Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 3. The east coast of England : Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumberland Section 6, County Durham (CF)