The wreck lies with its bow towards the shore and a 10 degree list to starboard. The masts, funnel, wheelhouse, chartroom and all the accommodation superstructure have been removed or lost (see NPRN . The vessel's stern and skeg has also broken off, and the rudder was missing. The hull has been pressed down/anchored to the seabed to prevent further damage and the breaking open of it cargo tanks. The bow is exposed by 2m at low water.

Event and Historical Information:
The KINYA was a steel-hulled tanker built in 1979 by Menzer Schiffswerft at Geesthacht. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 997gt, 728nt; 240ft 6in length x 36ft 9.5in breadth x 14ft 9.5in depth; 1 deck, passenger deck 52ft, forecastle 31ft; hull ice strengthened; screw propulsion powered by an 8 cylinder oil engine producing 1500bhp; machinery by Atlas-MaK, Kiel. The vessel had 5 changes of name during its service life - ex ALCHEMIST BREME, ex- CHEMARIADNI, ex-ALDEGARAN CHIMICA, and ex-ELMA TORN. At time of loss on 6 January 1991, the tanker was owned by Fathom Shipping Ltd of Malta and was registered at Valletta. It carrying 1500 tons of sunflower oil from St Nazaire to Birkenhead when it capsized 16 miles southwest of Holyhead during bad weather. The hull drifted ashore, and subsequent salvage operations undertaken over the next month saw the vessel righted (with all its superstructure missing and after divers had sealed 6 of the 8 cargo tanks) and moved to a small vessel anchorage close by. Although it was planned that the vessel should be broken up by Trinity House appointed salvagers over the winter of 1991-2, the wreck remains insitu.

Sources include:
Larn and Larn shipwreck database 2002
Lloyds List, 21 January 1991
Lloyds Register of British and Foreign Shipping 1 July 1988 - 30 June 1989, number 6825816 in K
UK Hydrographic Office Wrecks and Obstructions Database. ? Crown Copyright and database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk)

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, April 2010.