The wreck of the PULTENEY lies in 89m of water and is orientated 270 (bow)/ 090 (stern). The wreck sits upright on the seabed and is 46m long and 7m wide, and two holds are visible forward of the superstructure (McCartney, 2022: 192).

The wreck was originally designated by the UKHO as 'Unknown'. Research by Dr Innes McCartney (2022: 192) for the Echoes from the Deep project, following a detailed survey by Bangor University in May 2019, identified the wreck as being dimensionally and archivally consistent with the loss of the PULTENEY (NPRN 271359). The record has been updated to reflect that research.

Event and Historical Information:
The wreck was probably first located by HMS POZARICA, an anti-aircraft auxiliary, in early May 1942. HMS POZARICA was one of two sister ships (POZARICA and PALAMARES), both former fruit carriers built at Doxfords, Sunderland, for the MacAndrews Line. POZARICA entered service in January 1938 and was purchased by the Admiralty on 20 June 1940 for conversion at Fairfields yard on the Clyde. The vessel was employed during her period with the Western Approaches Command, escorting small convoys across the Irish Sea between Milford Haven and the Ulster ports. The dimensions of the sonar contact attacked by POZARICA were given as 132ft length x 54ft breadth x 30ft height, lying orientated 045/225 degrees. In June 1981, HMS FAWN could find nothing in the location given, but did locate this small intact wreck.

Sources include:

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

UKHO ID 9964: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.

https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/12333.html

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, December 2023.

Site Record

UKHO 9964 (PULTENEY)