The Danish cargo steamship Sonderborg was launched from the Elsinore yard of Helsingor Jernskibs & Makinbyggeri A/S (Yard No 158) on 14 June 1920. She measured 320.2’ x 47.2’ x 20.9’ and her tonnage was 2876 gross, 1709 net. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine developing 282 nhp., also manufactured by the builders.
Extract Lloyd’s Register 1929.
SS Sonderborg.
The Sonderborg, and her sister ship M. C. Holm II (Yard No 159) were built to the order of the Danneborg Steam Shipping Company of Copenhagen, who retained ownership of both vessels until date of loss.
Profile Plan for Sonderborg & M C Holm.
On the 1 January 1930 the Sonderborg was on passage from Ardrossan to Trondheim in ballast. While heading north up the Little Minch in bad weather, she strayed off course and ran aground off the east side of the Isle of Harris around 04:30 am. They immediately sent out an SOS which was picked up by another Danish steamer, the SS Lituana and relayed to Wick Wireless Station giving their rough position as aground Hebrides, bottom broken, must leave now. Over the next few hours, more messages were sent from the Sonderborg, giving more detail as they became aware of their position and by 10:30 they confirmed their position to Malin Head Wireless as Stockinish, Harris Island. The 27 crew landed later that day in Loch Stockinish, their stricken vessel lying close by and ashore on submerged rocks near Rubha Cliuthair (Cluer Point), listing to port at 40 degrees.
The Sonderborg was badly damaged on her starboard bow and quarter, she was already full of water, although the north westerly gale had abated and the sea was smooth at the wreck site. Following an inspection of the wreck, a salvage vessel, the Copenhagen based streamer Em. Z. Svitzer was sent to Harris to try and refloat the wreck. Arriving on site on 13 January, their first task was to jettison some of the Sonderborg’s coal from the starboard bunker, to reduce weight at high level. Work continued over the next few weeks but suffered continual interruption by bad weather, which forced a decision on 29 January to suspend work until April or May. The salvage team returned to Copenhagen leaving the now rudderless ship to the mercy of the weather.
The salvage vessel Em. Z. Svitzer and Sonderborg-January 1930.
The next snippet of news comes at the end of June 1930. It concerns a Stornoway owned steam drifter named Protector, that was being used for salvage work on the wreck of the Sonderborg. On 26 June while enroute to the wreck site, she broke down off Glas Eilean lighthouse, Scalpay with a broken propellor shaft, and had to be towed into Tarbert by a small motor vessel from Scalpay, the MV Choice.
Lloyd’s casualty report.
More news comes on 13 August from Lloyd’s of London, it records the loss of the Protector the previous day. Apparently the Protector had gone alongside the wreck on the starboard side e.g. between wreck and reef, to take on coal. As they backed out they were caught on the reef and could not get off on a falling tide. The Protector was abandoned and left tied to the Sonderborg with wire hawsers. Later that day she became a constructive total loss when a southerly gale arrived and the hawsers rippled the deck from her semi-submerged timber hull.
The Wreck Today
We have not been able to establish if the wreck site has been commercially worked since 1930 although it would seem likely that the non ferrous would attract some attention, especially on a wreck of this size. The remains of the Sonderborg are reported to lie off the reef called Eilean na Carnaich, located on east side of the entrance to Loch Cliuthair, in position 57° 48.501’N, 06° 48.050’W. Depths in this location will range from 7 to 21 metres and the wreckage will be aligned pretty much as the photograph of her ashore. Any remains of the Protector will be near the stern of the Sonderborg, at 79 feet LOA the Protector was around a quarter of the length of the Sonderborg.
Location chart
Launched in October 1902, the Protector was built by Samuel Richards of Lowestoft (Yard No.104) as a wooden hulled steam drifter. She measured 79.0’ x 17.9 x 8.0’ and tonnage of 58 gross and 36 net. Registered at Lowestoft between 1902-15, the Protector LT.143 was sold and first registered in Stornoway in 1916 and at loss was owned by John Mackenzie of Stornoway. At some stage she was registered for fishing in Stornoway as SY.388 and her official number was 117441.
We would like to thank Murdo Maclean for providing information on the wrecks location as well as pictures of the wreck.
We would also like to thank Lloyd’s Register Foundation – Heritage & Education Centre for allowing us to reproduce documents from their archive in this article.
