The steel steamship Saint Marnock was launched from the Deptford yard of James Laing and Sons Ltd (Yard No 491) on 16th July 1889. She measured 320.4′ x 41.0′ x 19.5′ and her tonnage was 2969 gross tons, 1951 net tons. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by J Dickinson, Sunderland delivering 285 nominal horse power.
Extract Lloyd’s register 1915
Her initial owners, the British and Foreign Steamship Company (Rankin, Gilmour and Co Ltd) operated from Liverpool until, in 1899, she was purchased by new owners, William Thomson and Co Ltd of Dundee who renamed her Jacona. In 1908 she was sold to her final owners, The Cairn Line of Steamships Ltd also of Dundee.
Builders longitudinal section-Lloyd’s Register
On 12th August 1915, with World War One raging, she was returning from a trip to Archangel heading for Hull under the command of Captain Ellis Arthur George who had a crew of thirty eight men aboard. The details of the loss in the records are sketchy but, suffice to say, when the Jacona was approximately 25 miles north north west of Troup Head, Banffshire she sank quickly after a large explosion. The cause of the explosion was never precisely determined. U-boat records do not ascribe the attack to any German submarine so a torpedo attack is probably ruled out. U-25 certainly laid some mines in the area in July 1915 and it is also recorded that the German mine laying vessel SMS Meteor also laid mines in the area in late July 1915. In a separate incident later in the mission, on 8th August, Meteor was stopped by the British blockade vessel HMS Ramsey who believed her to be a Russian merchantman. Meteor opened fire on Ramsey and sank her with the loss fifty five lives somewhere north east of Kinnaird Head. Meteor also took four officers and thirty nine crewmen, who had abandoned ship in their boats, as prisoners. However the following day, Meteor was pursued by a number of British battleships and was scuttled by her captain to avoid capture with all the German and British men aboard picked up by the pursuing British warships.
Although the reason for the loss of Jacona has never been explained the Jacona certainly sank north east of Troup Head. The records are confused regarding the exact number of casualties but newspapers reports would indicate that twenty one of the thirty one men aboard perished.
Memorial plaques Tower Hill, London
The wreck in position 58° 00.202′ N, 002° 43.156′ W oriented 060/240 degrees has long been reported by UK Hydrographic Department as Jacona. A dive in August 2024 by a team of divers from the dive vessel Clasina ably aided by wreck researcher Kevin Heath confirmed this is indeed Jacona. She lies in position 58° 13.217′ N 002° 43.066′ W. She she sits upright and fairly in tact 71 metres with a least depth clearance of 61 metres. The wreck was positively identified by the location of crockery on the wreck showing the owner’s crest. More detailed information on the vessel, the loss and the wreck can be viewed at http://lostinwatersdeep.co.uk
We would like to thank Lloyd’s Register Foundation – Heritage & Education Centre for allowing us to reproduce documents from their archive in this article.
