The wreck lies in general depths of 12-22m and is very broken up apart from the stern which is reported to remain intact. The boilers are still insitu. All non-ferrous metals have been recovered.

Event and Historical Information:
The CAMBRO was a steel-hulled steamship built by the Campbeltown Ship Building Co, Campbeltown, in 1906 (yard number 74). Technical and configuration specifications are given as 1984gt, 1215nt; 282ft 3in long x 40ft depth x 19ft 3in depth; 1 deck, 4 bulkheads, passenger deck 27ft, boat deck 58ft, forecastle 31ft; screw propulsion powered by two steam boilers linked to a triple expansion engine producing 192hp; official number 123161. At time of loss, the steamship was owned by the Empire Shipping Company Ltd and registered at Cardiff. The vessel was under the command of master T Rich transporting a cargo of pyrites from Huelva to Garston on 24 May 1913. In fog and shortly after dark, the ship drove onto the Smalls. The vessel stranded due east of the lighthouse and the crew abandoned ship in two boats, half in one commanded by the 2nd officer, the other under the charge of captain Rich. Both rowed away from the wreck and soon lost contact. The lifeboat commanded by the 2nd officer was seen by the steamship OPAL on passage to London, who landed the 10 survivors at Weymouth. The other lifeboat rowed for Milford Haven, and during the early hours when the fog lifted found themselves near the Haven, having covered a distance of some 20 miles in eleven hours. The wreck was heavily salvaged by the Rousse Brothers in the 1970s.

Sources include:

Board of Trade Wreck Return 1913, Appendix C, Table 1, p.101 (443)
The Cambria Daily Leader, 26 May 1913, p.1
Goddard, T, 1993, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p.81
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 April - 30 June 1913, p.7 (h)
UK Hydrographic Office Wrecks and Obstructions Database. ? Crown Copyright and database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk).

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, July 2009.

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