The wreck of the YEWS lies in 53m of water and is orientated 120 (bow)/300 (stern). The wreck is upright, intact, 42m long, 8m wide, with a visible hold forward (McCartney, 2022: 236).

The wreck was originally designated by the UKHO as 'Unknown'. Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 236) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University in August 2020, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the YEWS. The record has been updated to reflect that research.

Event and Historical Information:
The YEWS was a steel-hulled steamship built in 1905 by J. Fullerton & Co (Yard No. 186, Official No. 115634). Technical and configuration specifications are given as 333gt, 100nt; 142ft 6in length x 23ft 4in breadth x 10ft 1in depth; 1 deck, weatherdeck, 3 bulkheads, quarterdeck 76ft, boatdeck 7ft, forecastle 23ft; screws propulsion powered a single steam boiler linked to a compound engine producing 47hp; machinery aft, made by Renfrew Bros & Co, Irvine. At the time of loss, the vessel was owned by Frontier Town Steamship Co Ltd and was registered at Newry.

On 19 June 1910, the YEWS was carrying cast iron ingots from Harrington to Port Talbot when it was in collision with the French steamship LA ROCHELLE (NPRN 272244). Both vessels subsequently foundered and the YEWS was lost with all hands.

Sources include:

Board of Trade Wreck Return 1910, Appendix C, Table 1, p.121 (169)

Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002

Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 April - 30 June 1910, p.7 (d)

Lloyds Register Documentation: https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/yews-1905/

Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1907 - 30 June 1908, number 73 in Y

McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep

South Wales Daily Post, 20 June 1910, p.5

UKHO ID 81383: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.

https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?67121

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, December 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.