The wreck of the INVERLOGIE is considered by the UKHO to correspond with UKHO ID 11932. The wreck lies in 100m of water and is orientated 115/295 degrees. It has a surveyed length of 84m, a width of 14m, and is 14.8m high. The UKHO notes a distinctive gantry forward, and open hold aft.
The wreck was first located by the UKHO in 1959 (HMS Shackleton). It was relocated in 1978 but not fully examined because of poor weather. The most recent UKHO survey took place in 1982 (HMS Bulldog).
Event and Historical Information:
The INVERLOGIE (ex CHELMSFORD (1893-1909)) was a 4-masted steel barque built in 1893 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. at Govan, Glasgow (Yard No. 372, Official No. 102650). The vessel was 2347 grt, 91.1m long, 13.4m wide, and 7.5m depth. At the time of loss, the vessel was owned by George Milne & Co, Aberdeen.
On 9 March 1917, the ship was en route from Barry to Archangel with a cargo of coal, when she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-70, commanded by Otto Wünsche, 15 miles southwest of the Smalls. There were no casualties.
Sources include:
Lloyds Register 1917 (Sailing), I91 https://archive.org/details/HECROS1917SV/page/n138/mode/1up
Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1917, p.18 (i)
Lloyds Register Documentation: https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/chelmsford-1893/
Mercantile Navy List, 1910, p.729
Mercantile Navy List, 1915, p.818
SV Inverlogie (ex Chelmsford), Wreck Site EU
U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea
UKHO ID 11932: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
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.