The wreck of the MORNA was identified at this location by E. Giles in a letter to the UKHO in December 1977. The wreck has not been searched for in a subsequent UKHO survey (1982), and was deemed to be too close inshore in the most recent survey in 2013.

A brass cover and copper water funnel have been recovered and reported to the Receiver of Wreck. The full character and extent of archaeological remains is presently unknown.

Event and Historical Information:
The MORNA was a wooden screw-steamer built in 1854 at Renfrew by William Simons and Co. Ltd (Yard No. 74). The vessel was 636 grt, 65m length, 7.75m breadth, and 5m depth. It was powered by a single 2-cylinder compound steam engine, with a single shaft and screw. Tthe Lloyds Survey Report notes that the ship also carried a 3-masted schooner rig. At the time of loss it was owned by the Belfast Steamship Co. Ltd. and sailed as a packet ship between Belfast and London.

The MORNA departed Belfast on 24 February 1855, Master Carter, with a general cargo and a company of army recruits amongst the passengers. The steam packet encountered thick fog which, combined with strong currents, took the vessel far off course. The steamer struck on the North Bishop rock 25 February at 7pm. Attempts to get her off using her engine in reverse failed, and her boats were lowered. There was a degree of panic amongst the recruits, and a number of them who rushed the jolly boat caused to fill with water and most of them drowned. After the starboard lifeboat had been launched and everyone accounted for, Captain Carter was the last to step from vessel which was now rapidly going to pieces, her general cargo of beef, pork, whiskey and Irish linen floating away with the tide. The boat reach Ramsey at 5 am and after daybreak the survivors made their way onto the mainland. Other survivors were picked up by a passing ship and landed at Milford Haven. Of the 93 persons on board on 21 were lost.

Sources include:
Larn and Larn, 2002. Shipwreck Index of the British Isles. Volume 5, Section 7, West Wales (EG).

Lloyds Register Documentation, LRF-PUN-IRON431A-0002-R: https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/morna-1854/

Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshore Shipwrecks, pg71

UKHO ID 12104: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.

https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?10415

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, January 2025.