SS Margareta ashore near Little Ailsa
The Finnish steamship Margareta, bound for Glasgow with a cargo of iron ore, ran ashore on the south side of Ailsa Craig in the early hours of Monday 22nd December, 1952. Lifeboats from Girvan and Campbeltown attended the scene and rescued eleven of her crew who were later landed at Campbeltown.
The crew await rescue by the RNLI
Captain Sundell remained aboard with the rest of the crew to survey damage to her hull, the forepeak and No.1 hold were flooded. However with worsening sea conditions they too had to be rescued when the Margareta began to slip off the rocks in heavy seas.
Three salvage tugs from Metal Industries of Gareloch arrived the following day but continuing bad weather hampered initial salvage attempts. In order to salvage the Margareta 700 tons of her cargo had to be jettisoned from her bow hold to allow repair work to be completed. The Margareta was refloated on Monday 29th December and towed to Gareloch by the tug Salveda, where her cargo was transferred to another vessel. The Margareta was later dry docked in January 1953 for repair.
Metal Industries tugs tow the Margareta to safety
