The wreck of the STEEPHOLM lies in three main pieces and is distributed over a wide area, and is still visible at low water. The northern and southern parts were last examined by the UKHO in 2018. The northern section (located at 51.454150N, 3.66283W) is distributed over 21.8m, a width of 11m and is orientated 030/210 degrees. The southern section (located at 51.452950N, 3.66450W) is distributed over 62m, 10m wide and orientated 035/215 degrees.
Event and Historical Information:
The STEEPHOLM was a bucket dredger or suction dredger (sources differ) built by Charles Hill & Sons Ltd, Bristol, in 1950. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 532gt, 207nt; 150ft length x 31ft breadth x 11ft 7in depth. At time of loss, the vessel was owned by Holms Sand & Gravel Co Ltd.
The dredger got into trouble when both its lights and pumps failed during a gale on 2 October 1968. The vessel struck the Tusker Rock, and with the vessel pounding on the rocks, the crew inflated two liferafts and abandoned ship leaving only the master behind transmitting radio Mayday distress signals. The Mumbles lifeboat, WILLIAM GAMMON was launched. It picked up six men from a liferaft and returned to the STEEPHOLM which was now listing heavily. With the lifeboat close to the wreck the master jumped into the sea, reached the lifeboat and was hauled on board. The next day the Dutch salvage vessel UTRECHT arrived hoping to retrieve the vessel, but the wreck was now too far gone. The gale broke the wreck into three portions on the eastern end of the Tusker Rock. Trinity House reported that the superstructure was visible at highwater at 51 27 15N, 03 39 30W. This position was updated in February 1969 to 51 27 12N, 03 39 39W. The wreck was surveyed by HMS BEAGLE in March 1992 and reported to be well-scattered. A re-examination, described above, took place in 2018.
Sources include:
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 October - 31 December 1968, p.50
UKHO ID 12486: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, March 2024
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.