A motor vessel of 483 tons. Struck a mine in December 1940. She was carrying a cargo a submarine cable. N55 00 29 W001 23 08. The Cullercoats life boat was called out to a spot 3/4 mile east of the Tyne piers. The wreck has been bought by W.G.P. Marine (Collings). Steel, 483-ton motor vessel, registered at Harwich, 48.15m long, 8.22m beam, 2.59m draught. She was built in 1936 by Smith’s Dock Co. Ltd at South Bank, Middlesbrough and owned by Messrs F.W. Horlock’s Ocean Transport Co. Ltd. Her single screw was powered by a four-cylinder oil engine 2S CSA. Her aft machinery was built by Atlas Diesel A/B at Stockholm. She had a cruiser-stern, one deck, three watertight bulkheads and a superstructure consisting of a 29.5m quarter-deck, a 3.3m bridge-deck and a 6.4m forecastle.
The Jolly Girls was requisitioned by the government and was on passage from London to Rosyth on 2 December 1940, with a crew of eight, two DEMS gunners and a 540-ton of copper submarine cable when she detonated a German-laid mine, she foundered after twenty minutes.

As of 2001, the wreck has never been found by divers, despite extensive searches. The wreck is said to be eighteen cables (just over two miles) out and more or less east of the North Tyne pier, lying in a depth of around 29.3m on a seabed of sand and stone. There is a wreck on the Admiralty charts in that approximate location, marked as ‘position approximate’.

It is possible that she lies very close to the wreck of the Nyula (HER 12954)

Grid reference conversion made 06.12.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as
N 55 00 26 W 01 22 31

A 722 ton steamship which was bombed by German aircraft on 30th April 1941 at N 55 00 24 W001 17 34. N 54 59 930 W 01 17 348 (Collings). Steel, 722 ton British steamship, registered in Goole, 59.43m long, 9.16m beam 3.35m draught. She was built as the Decapo by J. Crown & Sons Ltd at Sunderland in 1908 and owned at the time of loss by C. Strubing & Co. Ltd. Her single steel propeller was powered by a three cylinder, triple expansion steam engine. Her machinery was built by the North East Marine Engineering Co. Ltd at Sunderland. She had one deck, a well-deck, a 4.6m watertight bridge-deck and 6.7m forecastle. (The Spokes database gives a measurement of 9.43m x 9.16m x 3.35m). On 29 April 1941 (Spokes/NMR database records the date as 30th April), the Kalua was on passage from the Tyne for London with an unspecified cargo of coal and a crew of fourteen when she was bombed and sunk by German aircraft during and air-raid on the coastal town of Tynemouth.

The wreck is believed to be known locally as the South Aquastar. She lies orientated in a north-north-west to south-south-east direction, on a well-swept seabed of hard sand and broken shell in a general depth of 39m. She is very substantial, partially intact and sitting upright 4m high, but with a list to her port side. The wreck is complete expect for her bridge superstructure; there is a large hole in the wreck where is used to be.

Grid reference conversion made 23.11.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 00 460 W 001 12 585

A 180 foot steamer which sank in December 1920 at N 54 00 14 W001 22 51. Lies in 14 metres of water. Iron, 656 ton, an old Norwegian Steamship, registered in Christiania 54.71m long, 8.4m beam, 4.29m draught. She was built as the Prima in1869 by Denton, Gray and Co. at West Hartlepool and owned at the time of loss by J. Thomas Wiborg & Son. Her single iron screw was powered by a two-cylinder, compound steam engine. Her machinery was built by the Flensburg Ship Building Co. She had one deck, a well-deck and small, centrally positioned bridge/wheelhouse superstructure. She was foundered following a collision near the Tyne estuary and lost on 26 January 1920 (Spokes database records the date as 1st December 1920); she had been on passage from the Tyne for Tonsberg with a cargo of coke.

The wreck is orientated in a south-east to north-west direction on a seabed of dirty, coarse sand in a general depth of 16m (Spokes database records the depth as both 14 and 15m). She is now totally collapsed and well broken up, with her boiler and engine exposed and surrounded by lots of broken iron spars, plates and bits of machinery. The highest section is around her boiler/ engine and stands no higher than 3m; the wreck site covers an area of approx 50m x 14m.

Spokes records the wreck as lying 1610 yards from South Shields.

Grid reference conversion made 23.11.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 00 263 W 001 22 879

50 metres south of the Withrington (HER 12949) is an unidentified wreck. The bows and stern are complete with the propeller and other pieces. Lies in 12 metres of water.

The Withrington was a World War One destroyer of 1120 tons and 312 feet long. She was being towed to the breakers yard on 29th April 1947 when she broke her tow in bad weather and was wrecked on the ballast stones on the bend in the south pier. The substantial remains include the boilers, drive shafts, gears, valves and generators. She is owned by a local diver who still works the wreck (Collings). Steel, 1,325 ton ‘W’ class Royal Navy destroyer, 91.44m long, 8.84m beam, and her two bronze propellers were powered by steam turbines. Built by White at Cowes, Isle of Wight, she was launched on 16 January 1919. The ship had an armament of four 10.2cm (4in) guns and six torpedo tubes. The vessel was one of fifty-six other ships of the ‘W’ class ordered in 1918, but she became redundant, was decommissioned and sold to Metal Industries at Rosyth for breaking.
On 29 April 1947, (The History of Cullercoats Lifeboats by Jeff Morris reports this vessel to have come ashore in 1945) the Witherington was being towed from Chatham to Charelstown in the Firth of Forth with a skeleton crew of seven on board, when her tow line parted while off the entrance to the River Tyne. A bitterly cold, gale force west-north-west wind was churning up an extremely heavy, confused sea and blinding snow was being driven across the sea’s surface. The crews were unable to connect her tow line and at 11pm the Witherington was driven against the rocks close to the end of the Tyne’s South pier.

The remains of the Witherington are fairly easy to locate as she lies just at the bend, on the seaward side, of the one mile long pier at South Shields, and on the shire (western) side of a pile of huge stone blocks. The vessel soon broke up where she lay, taking the full brunt of winter storms. Even her boilers are now broken open and have smashed in half, along with the rest of the ship. The wreck now belongs to a local ex-diver Gordon Ortie.

She now lies at a depth of 12m.

Grid reference conversion made 06.12.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as
N 55 00 33 W 01 24 8

300 metres inshore of the Oslo Fjord (HER 12947) lies an unidentified wreck with small boilers.

Built as a liner of the Norwegian-American line. 18600 tons. She was converted into a troop ship in 1940. She hit a mine near the entrance to the Tyne on 1st December 1940. She was towed and beached stern first at N55 00 10.8 W001 23 43.5. She now lies on sand in 12 metres of water marked by a red buoy. There is much evidence left - huge ribs, plates and girders covered in anemone and sponge. Rows of sinks can be seen, but some of the taps have disappeared. In 1990 the wreck was salvaged. The huge engines and bow section are impressive. Silverwear has been recovered marked with the shipping line's crest, and portholes and a telegraph. In 1943 the Chandris sank on top of the Oslo Fjord (Collings). Steel, 18 673 ton, luxury passenger liner, the pride of Norway when she was built in 1938, 171.68m long, 22.35m beam, 10.38m draught. She was designed to carry 310 crew and 860 passengers (152 First Class, 307 Tourist Class, 401 Third Class). She was built for the Norske Amerika Line by Deutsche Sch & Mschb A.G. Weser at Bremen. Her two huge bronze propellers were powered by four 28 cylinder oil engines. She had a cruiser stern, four decks, a 92.1m bridge-deck and a 13.4m forecastle. She is the largest merchant ship to be wrecked off the east coast of Britain! She was converted into a troop-ship after the invasion of Norway in 1940. On December 1st 1940 she detonated a magnetic/ acoustic mine off the mouth of the River Tyne, the Cullercoats life boat rescued 40 crew and the stood by until the vessel was beached in the shallow bay half a mile south of South Shields. There she stayed for three years until the elements took hold and the top of the vessel broke up.

The bow end of the ship lies approximately 600m out from Herd Sands approximately 6m below the surface and is still fairly substantial, though now totally collapsed except for part of the bow section. Another 100m out is the ‘impressive’ engine block. In 1991 the wreck was ‘absolutely brilliant’ with the detritus of life all around including cutlery, toilets and other fittings. However sea storms and divers in the past decade have taken their toll.

The Spokes and NMR database records this vessel as a diesel liner and a troopship (two separate entries) lying at a depth of 14m.

Grid reference conversion made 23.11.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 00 161 W 001 23 917

A 5300 ton Greek steamship which collided with the Exemouth on 15th March 1943 while off South Shields. She sank on top of the Oslo Fjord (HER 12947). She was carrying 4874 drums of Trichlorethylene and 573 cases of ordinance, copper and aluminium ingots. The bows of the wreck lie across the Oslofjord. There was heavy salvage in 1990. The engines, driveshaft, boilers, pipes and flanges can still be seen. There are thousands of .22 bullets in one part of the wreck. The wreck is covered in orange, pink and white plumrose anemonies. The ship was built in 1920 and was fitted with a triple expansion engine. She was 425 feet long. Amongst the wreckage is evidence of a third wreck (Collings). The wreck of the Eugenia Chandris (ex Stadsdijk) lies at a depth of 14m and was sunk as a result of a collision 15th March 1943. The ship weighed some 5300T.

The Ian Spokes database also has an entry for the Evgene Chandris (presumably a typing error). The entry for this ship states that she had a tonnage of 5317T and measured 129.56 x 16.45 x 8.1m. This Greek steamship (as stated under entry for Evgene Chandris) ran aground.


Grid reference conversion made 23.11.2010 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 55 00 132 W 001 23 869

An over 1200 ton wreck of a collier lying on a sandy seabed in 14 metres of water. Well broken up but still substantial.

These dock gates were abandoned after they broke their toll. They can be found at the southern end of the north foreshore. They lie in 7 metres of water. Ideal spot for underwater photography.