The wreck of the DERBENT lies on its starboard side in 39m of water, orientated 300 (bow)/ 120 (stern) degrees. The wreck has a surveyed length of 96m, a width of 17m and a maximum height above the seabed of 13m. It is described by the UKHO (2021) as having no visible damage to its exposed port side, and with its masts partially buried in the seabed. The wreck lies on its starboard side with its keel orientated 120/300 degrees.
The ship's bell was recovered in 1990, confirming its identification. The pedestal for the ship's wheel, the ship's telegraphs, binnacle, steam gauges and portholes are other items recovered and reported to the Receiver of Wreck.
It was originally located in 1971, with the most recent UKHO survey taking place in 2021. Prior to that it was surveyed by Bangor University in March 2018.
For further information on the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 Act and its administration with regard to vessels, please contact the Ministry of Defence, Wreck Section, Naval Personnel Secretariat, Room 125 Victory Building, HMNB Portsmouth, PO1 3LS.
Event and Historical Information:
The DERBENT was built by Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1907 (Official No. 136706, Yard No. 805). Technical and configuration specifications are given 3178gt 1924nt; 310ft length x 43ft breadth x 26ft depth; machinery aft; screw propulsion powered by a triple expansion engine producing 258hp; machinery by Wallsend Slipway Company Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The ship was built for S.A. de Armament d'Industrie et de Commerce, Antwerp, and completed in March 1908. Voyages before requisitioning by the Admiralty in 1914 include destinations such as Port Arthur, New York, and Rangoon. The ship's registry was transferred to the port of London in September 1914. In March 1915, the DERBENT was in the Mediterranean at Port Mudros and Tendos refuelling naval vessels such as HMS PHAETON and HMS INFLEXIBLE which were attempting to seize control of the Dardanelle Straits. The tanker as managed by Messers Lane and MacAndrew for the Admiralty and, at time of loss, was under the command of Arthur Falconer.
The DERBENT had left Liverpool at 11pm on the night of 29 November 1917 and was on passage to Queenstown carrying 3700 tons of fuel oil. The ship was not in the channel intended by its sailing orders, but 3 3/4 miles to the north of it when it was torpedoed by UB-96 at 5.40am on the 30 November. The engine was stopped to get the boats out and by the time they left there was 2ft of water in the engine room and it was filling fast. The vessel sank by the stern and the master saw the stern touch bottom at 6.15am. The torpedo struck between no 9 tank and the coffer dam and cross bunker on the port side. The lid of number 9 tank was blow clean off and the deck buckled. The 36 crewmembers (and a stowaway) were picked up by the DERBENT's escort, HMT AUCKLAND. The U-boat was captained by Kapt. Lieutenant Heinrich Jess. The position given for the loss at the time was six miles northeast by east from Lynas Point or 53 28 13N, 4 14 06W. In the correspondence collated by the Admiralty after the incident, it was determined that the sailing instructions given to the DERBENT's master could be interpreted in two ways. The master was exonerated from blame and sailing instructions altered to make them non-ambiguous.
The wreck was included in the multi-beam surveys undertaken by Bangor University in 2018, as part of the Royal Commission's HLF-funded Partnership Project - 'Commemorating the Forgotten U-Boat War around the Welsh Coast 1914-18'.
Sources include:
ADM137/4005 Home Waters Ships Attacked November 16 to 30 1917, The National Archives, Kew
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, pg24 and 74
Larn and Larn shipwreck database 2002
Receiver of Wreck Droits Database 2007, RCIM6/2/5
McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep
Mercantile Navy List 1915, pg152
UKHO ID 7334: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
https://uboatproject.wales/wrecks/derbent/
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11449
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, November 2024.