The steel steam trawler Strathclunie was launched from the yard of Hall Russell and Co Ltd., Aberdeen (Yard No 528) on 18th August 1913. She measured 114.6′ x 21.9′ x 12.9′ and her tonnage was 211 gross tons, 82 net tons. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine by Hall Russell delivering 74 registered horse power. Ordered by the Aberdeen Steam Trawling Co Ltd she was registered in this port A583. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty in April 1915 and converted to a minesweeper, fitted with a 6 pounder anti-aircraft gun and served throughout the war as Admiralty No 1199. She survived the war and was returned to her owners in 1919.
Profile and rigging plan Strathclunie
On 6th January 1928 Strathclunie was returning from a successful trip to the Shetland fishing grounds with 180 boxes of fish in her holds under the command of her skipper William Wright who had a crew of eight men aboard. Around 7:15am, when 8 miles off Buchan Ness the Dundee trawler Tumby appeared out of the darkness and crashed into her starboard side between the fish room and the bunkers, It was instantly obvious from the extent of the damage that she would founder quickly. The crew had no time to launch the ship’s boat as she settled rapidly with water pouring in through a huge gash in her hull. The skipper of the Tumby reversed his vessel away from Strathclunie then swung his vessel alongside and, one by one, the crew of the Strathclunie jumped across onto the pitching deck of the Tumby. Thankfully all nine men made it across safely and unharmed. Within minutes of the last man landing on Tumby, Strathclunie plunged, bow first, beneath the waves and was gone. The bow of the Tumby, which had been steaming at full speed at the time of the collision, was severely damaged but, luckily, remained more or less watertight. The Tumby immediately set off for Aberdeen landing the crew there just before noon.
The wreck of the Strathclunie, which was long believed to be the wreck of the trawler Bel Lily, was finally positively identified in the summer of 2025 when the maker’s plate was discovered on the wreck by a team from Buchan Divers. She lies in position 57° 32.736′ N, 001° 42.370′ W oriented 040/220 degrees and is lying in 50 metres rising 5 metres from the seabed. The wreck sits upright with the collision damage on her starboard side clearly visible.
