The wreck of the MAJA lies in 69m of water and is orientated 270 (bow)/090 (stern). The wreck is upside down, with an angle to port and measures 137m long, and 18m wide, with three noticeable torpedo holes in the hull (McCartney 2022: Phase 1 Analysis).

The wreck of the MAJA was subject to a detailed survey by Bangor University in May 2019. Associated research was undertaken by Dr Innes McCartney (2022) for the Echoes from the Deep project, which corroborated the existing identification of the wreck by the UKHO.

The wreck was originally located in 1945 and examined by the UKHO in 1983 by HMS BEAGLE when the surveyed length was recorded as 170m.

Event and Historical Information

The MAJA was motor vessel (tanker) built in 1931 in the Netherlands by Van Der Giessen & Zonon (Yard No. 618, Official No. 167256. The vessel was 8181 grt, 137.5m in length and 18.9m in width, it was powered by 2x 6 cylinder engines, 2 double boilers, dual shaft, twin screws and with the machinary aft. At the time of loss it was owned by the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd, under the command of Master William Cecil Robinson.

On 15 January 1945 the MAJA was sailing from Swansea to Belfast and then Iceland with a cargo of gas oil and spirit when it was torpedoed and sunk by U-1055 (Meyer, Rudolph, Oberleutnant zur See) at a position given as 26 miles NNE of the Skerries. 25 lives were lost (8 passengers and 17 crew), and the master, 37 crew and 2 gunners were rescued and landed at Holyhead

Subsequent to the attack, an Allied flying boat on patrol dropped smoke flares to mark the position, although smoke and flames from the burning wreck could clearly be seen on the horizon. A Dutch motor fishing vessel HENDRIK CONSCIENCE trawling in the area made for the scene, and took a lifeboat in tow which contained 39 of the crew including the Captain. Royal Navy destroyers then arrived to assist is the search for survivors, but it was an RAF Rescue launch from the Isle of Man that picked up eight bodies, a ninth being recovered later by a warship, the bodies being buried on the Isle of Man. U-1055 survived until shortly after 05.04.1945, the date she left for a war patrol, and never returned, thought to be the victim of a mine or some other explosion, since the wreck has never been found.

Sources Include:

Larn and Larn, 2002. Shipwreck Index of the British Isles. Volume 5, Section 11, Irish Sea & St Georges Channel (EK).

Lloyds Register 1943-44.

Lloyds Register Documentation: https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/maja-1931/

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

UKHO ID 7063: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.

https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?30762

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, January 2024