SS Port Kembla
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Port Kembla |
| Owner: | Commonwealth and Dominion Line |
| Builder: | Hawthorn Leslie & Co. Ltd. |
| Yard number: | 439 |
| In service: | 1910 |
| Out of service: | 18 September 1917 |
| Fate: | sunk by mine |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 4,700 GT, 2,990 NT |
| Length: | 121 m |
| Beam: | 16 m |
| Installed power: | steam |
The SS Port Kembla was a steamer owned by the Commonwealth and Dominion Line and named after Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia. It was sunk 17 kilometres (11 mi) off Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island on 18 September 1917 by a mine laid by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf. During an inquiry held in Wellington shortly after the sinking it was thought that the explosion was from an internal source rather than a mine.[1]
When it sank the ship was fully laden with frozen produce, wool, skins, tallow, jams, lead, and general cargo which was being shipped from Australia to Great Britain for World War I.[1]
The ship lies at a depth of 96 metres (315 ft) and is visited by scuba divers. In 2012 plans were being made for a second attempt to recover 1200 tonnes of lead from the ship. An earlier attempt in 1977 did not come to fruition because of ownership disputes.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "THE PORT KEMBLA DISASTER.". Colonist. 1 October 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
- ↑ Rose, Patrick (17 April 2012). "World War One Lead Salvage Effort Planned". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 17 April 2012.