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 OLIVIA was a small steel-hulled steamship or coaster built by Mordey, Carney & Co Ltd, Newport, in 1883. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 242gt, 111nt; 121ft long x 22ft breadth x 9ft depth; machinery aft; 1 deck, 3 bulkheads, quarterdeck 36ft; screw propulsion powered by a single steam boiler linked to a compound engine producing 60hp made by Sheryn & Laurie, Newport; official number 86742. The steamship was owned at time of loss by Bain, Sons & Co, and registered at Penzance. It was carrying a cargo of coal from Garston to Portreath, Cornwall, under the command of master W Q G Martin, when it was captured by a German submarine on 11 February 1917. The crew were forced to abandon ship and the OLIVIA was scuttled by explosive charges 21 miles SSW of Bardsey Island. The u-boat was UC-65 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Otto Steinbrinck. The OLIVIA was one of 10 vessels sunk or damaged around the Welsh coast by UC-65 between 10-15 February 1917.

Sources include:

The Cambria Daily Leader, 13 February 1917, p.1
Gater, D, 1992, Historic Shipwrecks of Wales, p.130
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p.103
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1917, p.12 (i)
Mercantile Navy List, 1890, p.183
Mercantile Navy List, 1900, p.261
Mercantile Navy List, 1910, p.376
Mercantile Navy List, 1915, p.435
Newcastle Journal, Tuesday 13 February 1917, p.8
Olivia, uboat.net
SS Olivia, Wreck Site EU
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, April 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.