Prosum

The iron steamship Bergamo was launched from the Sunderland yard of William Pickersgill Ltd (Yard No 66) on 29th November 1883 for R W Jones and Company of Newport. She measured 223.2′ x 32.2′ x 16.3′ and her t tonnage was 1174 gross tons, 755 net tons. She was powered by a compound steam engine by North Eastern Marine Eng’g Co Ltd., Sunderland delivering 116 hp. In 1897 she was purchased by Hans Kiaer and Co of Drammen ( D/S A/S Prosum) and renamed Prosum. She was purchased by her final owners Fred Olsen in 1903 and continued to ply the North Sea routes.

In the early hours of the morning of 24th October 1908 she was en route from London to Grangemouth in ballast to pick up her latest cargo under the command of Captain Braarvig with a crew of sixteen men. Around 1am she ran aground of a reef near Thortonloch and stuck fast. Her distress calls were answered and the Cove and Dunbar Rocket Brigade and the Skateraw lifeboat were called out. By the time the lifeboat arrived on the scene the crew had disembarked on the ship’s boats and were transferred to the lifeboat safely.

Initial inspections revealed that the vessel was badly holed but it was still hoped she could be repaired, refloated and saved but, despite various attempts, she became a total wreck after the wreck broke into two pieces.