The wreck is reported to be intact, lying with its keel orientated 909/270 degrees and to have a height of 4m above the general level of the seabed.

Event and Historical Information:
The AMETHYST was an iron-hulled steamship built by Gourlay Bros & Co, Dundee, in 1879. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 934gt, 601nt; 218ft length x 29ft breadth x 15.9ft depth; 1 deck (weather deck), 5 bulkheads, quarterdeck 66ft, boat deck 83ft. The vessel was built for the Dundee Gem Steam Shipping Company Ltd. The company was created by P M Duncan who began as a clerk for John Brown, coal merchant and shipowner, in Dundee in the 1840s. In 1850, Duncan became his own shipping agent with an office at 13 Dock Street and proceeded to buy a small fleet of sailing ships. He acquired his first steamship, the HARVEST QUEEN, in 1861,and was joined by his son, James, in the enterprise. By 1882, the company's fleet of steamship were not only busily engaged in flax trade between the Baltic ports and Dundee, but were also undertaking trading voyages to Spain, Greece and the Middle East. The fleet comprised AMETHYST, BERYL, DIAMOND, GARNET, JASPER, OPAL, RUBY and SAPPHIRE. At time of loss on 21 March 1897, the AMETHYST was on passage from Liverpool to Barcelona with a cargo of seed under the command of master A S Edwards. It was in collision with the steamship ANNBIS and subsequently foundered 15 miles west of Bardsey. The wreck was located by the salvage company, Rizdon Beazley, in 1976. At which time, the builder's plate marked 'GOURLAY BROTHERS & CO, ENGINEERS AND SHIPBUILDERS, DUNDEE 1879' was recovered, confirming the wreck's identity. The wreck was relocated by HMS FAWN in May 1981.

Sources include:

Board of Trade Wreck Return 1897, Appendix C, Table 1, p.153 (591)
Dundee Gem Line Steam Shipping Co Ltd, 1890 - 1905 Secretary's Papers, Dundee City Archives
Yr Herald Cymraeg, 23 March 1897, p.5
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1897, p.6 (d)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1896 - 30 June 1897, number 545 in A
South Wales Echo, 22 March 1897, p.2
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)
P M Duncan: The Gem Line, Tayside A Maritime History

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, May 2011.

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.