The wreck of the NOR lies in 83m of water and is orientated 135 (bow)/ 315 (stern). The wreck is 74m long, 10.8m wide and sits upright on the seabed with holds visible fore and aft (McCartney, 2022: 181).
The wreck was originally identified by the UKHO as the ELSENA. Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 181) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University in May 2019, identified the wreck as being dimensionally, positionally, and archivally consistent with the loss of the NOR. The record has been updated to reflect that new research.
NOTE: The update to the location of the wreck of the NOR means that it no longer lies within Welsh Waters, and is to the west of the Wales/Ireland median line in the Irish Sea. As such, the wreck should not be considered as an active part of the National Monuments Record of Wales. It has been retained within the overall NMRW for completeness.
Event and Historical Information:
The NOR was a steel-hulled cargo vessel built at Bergen in 1902 by Laxevaags Msk. & Jrnskb. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 1418gt, 878nt; 245ft 1in length x 36ft 2in breadth x 16ft 8in depth; 1 deck, screw propulsion powered by 2 boilers linked to a triple expansion engine producing 132hp. At the time of loss on 14 December 1917, the vessel was owned by Harloff & Rodseth of Bergen and registered at that port. The vessel was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UB-65 in St George's Channel, 27 miles west by north of Bardsey.
Sources include:
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 October - 31 March 1917, p.13 (i)
Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1915 - 30 June 1916, number 593 in N
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 9936: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, November 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.