Archaeological remains associated with the loss of this vessel are not confirmed as present at this location, but may be in the vicinity.

Event and Historical Information:
The VIRENT was a steel-hulled steamship built at Sunderland in 1902. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2420nt, 3771gt; 339ft length, 48ft breadth 27.8ft depth; 380hp, screw propulsion, official number 114640. The ship had been attacked by U 32 in the Mediterranean in July 1917. The ship was damaged by torpedo, beached and refloated. The ship was torpedoed and sunk on 24 August 1918 at a location given as 38 miles west by south of the Smalls. The ship had been on passage from Carthagena to Glasgow carrying iron ore and was owned at time of loss by James Westoll, Sunderland.

Sources include:

Appropriation Books, Official Numbers 114601 - 114650 (114640)
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p.111
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 July - 30 September 1918, p.9 (i)
Mercantile Navy List 1910, p.533
Mercantile Navy List 1915, p.617
Virent, uboat.net
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea
 

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, May 2019.

This record was enhanced in 2020 with funding from Lloyd's Register Foundation as part of the project ‘Making the Link: Lloyd's Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales’. Visit Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre for more resources.