The wreck of the CYRENE lies in 91m of water and is orientated 145(bow) /225(stern). The wreck is 93m in length and 13m in width, it lies upright on the seabed with a central bridge and cargo holds fore and aft (McCartney, 2022: 115).
The wreck was originally identified by the UKHO as the EARL OF ELGIN (NPRN271657). Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 115) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the CYRENE, and its record has been updated to reflect that new research.
Event and Historical Information:
The CYRENE was a steel-hulled screw-steamer built by Short Brothers at Sunderland in 1888. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2094gt, 1834nt; 302ft length x 42ft breadth x 19ft depth; single deck, 5 bulkheads, boat deck 65ft, forecastle 33ft; screw propulsion powered by 2 steam boilers linked to a triple expansion engine producing 233 horsepower; machinery by G Clark, Sunderland. At the time of loss the vessel was owned by the Cyrene Shipping Company Ltd and under the command of master C J Linder.
On 5 April 1918, the CYRENE was carrying coal from the Tyne to Blaye in southwest France when it was torpedoed by the German submarine UC-31, causing the deaths of 24 crewmembers. The contemporary loss location was given as 15 miles northwest of Bardsey or 52 50N, 04 51W. This wreck fitting the dimensions of the CYRENE was located in September 1981 by HMS FAWN.
Sources include:
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, p.85
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 April - 30 June 1918, p.9 (i)
Lloyds Register Documentation: https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/cyrene-1888/
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1915 - 30 June 1916, number 2010 in C
McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea
UKHO ID 6986: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, May 2023
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.