The wreck of the POSEIDON lies in 97m of water and is orientated 010 (bow)/190 (stern). The wreck sits upright on the seabed and is 90m long, 12m wide, and has visible holds fore and aft (McCartney, 2022: 204).

The wreck was originally designated by the UKHO as 'Unknown'. Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 204) 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 POSEIDON. The record has been updated to reflect that research.

NOTE: The update to the location of the wreck of the POSEIDON 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 POSEIDON was a steel-hulled steamship built at Stockton on Tees in 1893. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2589gt, 1657nt; 297ft length x 40.1ft breadth x 19.4ft depth; 1 deck, 5 bulkheads, passenger deck 29ft, boat deck 92ft; screw propulsion powered by twin boilers linked to triple expansion engine producing 219hp; machinery by Blair & Co Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees; official number 98839. The ship was owned by Dale Steamship Company Ltd (Lucas & Co), Bristol, between 1893 and 1902 and was named the SCARSDALE. Ownership was transferred to N P Roussos in 1902 and the vessel was registered at Syros (or Syra), Greece.

At the time of loss on 25 March 1917, it was carrying iron ore from Les Falaises, France, to Barrow-in-Furness under the command of Master Castis. The ship was captured by UC-65 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Otto Steinbrinck in St George's Channel. The crew were forced to abandon the ship after which it was sunk by gunfire and/or explosives from UC-65.

Sources include:

Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002

Lloyd's Register Casualty Returns, 1 January - 31 March 1917, p.13 (i)

Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1915 - 30 June 1916, number 912 in P

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

Mercantile Navy List, 1900, p.316 (listed as the SCARSDALE)

Poseidon, uboat.net

SS Poseidon, Wreck Site EU

U-Boat Project: Commemorating the War at Sea

UKHO ID 10002: 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.

Site Record

Poseidon (UKHO 10002)