Tyne and Wear HER(13819): Marsden, Souter Point, Poltava - Details
13819
S Tyneside
Marsden, Souter Point, Poltava
Marsden
NZ46SW
Maritime Craft
Transport Vessel
Cargo Vessel
Modern
C20
Wreckage
Iron, 945-ton, 65m long, 9.6m beam, 4.3m draught, steamship. She was built in 1889 for H. Schildt by Rostocker Act. Ges at Rostock in Northern Germany and called the Georg. On 6 August 1914 she was captured by HMS Comorant and taken to Gibralter. In 1915 she was sold to Tyzack & Branfoot of Newcastle upon Tyne and renamed George R, but later in 1915 she was acquired by Kaye, Sons and Co. Ltd, the owners at the time of loss and renamed the Poltava (Official No.139078). Her single iron propeller was powered by a two-cylinder, compound-steam engine that used one boiler.
On 19 April 1917, the Poltava had set out on a voyage from the Tyne with a cargo of coal, but detonated a mine laid by the German submarine UC44 just off Souter Point. The vessel foundered within minutes, however none of her crew was lost.
The Poltava is quite a substantial wreck, lying on a seabed of dirty fine sand and mud in a general depth of 39m. It is upright and standing up to 4m high in the midships, though partially buried. Unfortunately, the top upper structures and most of the hull have now collapsed in on themselves. Although she has not been positively identified, the wreck’s location and size make it most likely to be the Poltava. Lots of copper pipes are visible through the jumble of twisted iron plates and debris, as well as iron bollards, pieces of lifeboat-davits, broken hatch-covers and hundreds of soft corals that have taken hold at the most exposed ends of the wreck.
The NMR states her location as 3 miles ENE from Souter Point.
4568
6280
NZ45686280
Young, R. (2000) Comprehensive guide to Shipwrecks of the North East Coast (The): Volume One (1740 – 1917), Tempus, Gloucestershire. p. 150; National Monuments Record (908728); Hydrographic Office wreck index 09-MAR-1993