Sri Lanka: the largest wreck in the region found

Archaeologists from the Galle Maritime Archaeology Unit (MAU) have managed to find the wreck of a steamer. The vessel turned out to be the largest wreck located so far in Sri Lankan waters. The find was made off the coast of Batticaloa.

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Preliminary findings indicate that archaeologists have managed to locate the wreck of the vessel Sir John Jackson, which sank on 26 September 1908 in the vicinity of Brennus Bank and Navaladi Lagoon. MAU staff came across the find directed by one of the local divers.

The steamer weighing 4231 tons was built in 1905 by the shipyard of NWestminister Shipping Co. Ltd in London. and registered by Westminister Shipping Co. Ltd in London. According to information found in documents, the ship was on its way back to the English capital, where it was bound from Vietnam.

On the fateful 26th of September the Sir John Jackson, filled to the brim with a cargo of rice and wheat, sailed too close to the coast, trying to avoid the shallows. Most probably then it crashed into the reef and sank. According to surviving documents, the whole incident was caused by the captain’s mistake, who tried to navigate at night relying on lights set up by fishermen along the shore.

The ship was almost 110m long and over 14m wide. Two huge screws were set in motion by 5 boilers, allowing the vessel to reach a speed of 12 knots. As a result of the collision, one of the propellers was detached and was found a short distance from the rest of the wreck.

Archaeologists from the Galle Maritime Archaeology Unit have so far located 17 wrecks along the east coast of Sri Lanka.

Source: mausrilanka.lk