Mystery of UK shipwreck is solved 140 years after bodies of crew who used mattresses to plug holes in vessel washed up

A SHIPWRECK mystery has been solved after divers uncovered a vessel which sunk nearly 140 years ago.

Crew on board the SS Nantes made desperate attempts to plug the ship’s holes with mattresses when it sunk in 1888.

Jam Press/Rick AyrtonThe ship sank in 1888[/caption] Jam Press/Rick AyrtonDivers at the wreck of the SS Nantes[/caption]

The wreckage of the SS Nantes, has been discovered, having sunk 137 years ago – killing almost everyone onboard.

The boat tragically collided with a German sailing vessel, the Theodor Ruger, in November 1888, as reported by NeedToKnow.

Only two people survived, with two people jumping to safety on the Ruger, and one person who stayed on the Nantes trying to keep it afloat.

The Nantes sank approximately ten hours after the collision, this took place off the coast of Plymouth, in the early hours of the morning.

Diver Dominic Robinson discovered the wreckage of the SS Nantes last week, 246 feet below sea level.

The 50-year-old former Army Officer found a plate with the Cunard Steamship Company logo, belonging to the forgotten vessel.

This enabled him to work out that the wreck he had found was that of the SS Nantes.

Dominic and his crew then carefully examined the site of the wreck, and discovered old crockery which was key in identifying the wreck.

He said: “The Nantes was built in 1874, in Glasgow, and very sadly lasted a mere 14 years before it was sunk,” said Dominic.

“It was on a passage from Liverpool to La Havre, when it was sunk in France carrying cargo of coal.

“It’s quite a sad story.”

After the ship went down, it became lost until Dominic and his team discovered it.

Dominic, who has been an underwater explorer for around 35 years, first caught wind of the unidentified shipwreck from the UK Hydrographic Office.

Maritime Historian Dr Harry Bennett, who works at the institute, explained why the wreck has taken well over a century to find: “Obviously you’re dealing in a period with no satellite navigation.

“While the crew tried to save the ship it drifted for several hours, before it finally made its way to the bottom, sadly with many of its crewmen on board”.

Dominic added: “The wreck was lost until a local dive team identified it in 2024.

“We got the size of the wreck from the information on the UK Hydrographic Office.

“We knew the boat is about 78 or 79 metres long.

“We also knew that there was a Cunard plate from it – which was basically what we’re looking for.

“So what you do is you try to find a list of all the Cunard ships that were sunk.

“You then try and narrow them down to, to a relatively small one, and an old one.

“We obviously know where it sank, so if you can find information about the sinking and the wreck that aligns all those things up, then it’s fairly straightforward to identify it.”

The Cunard plate which Dominic found was crucial in the ship’s identification.

He said: “Even though the wreck had been dived before, it was never identified and this small piece of broken plate allowed us to do exactly that.

“The more eagle eyed amongst you may already have noticed the logo from the famous Cunard shipping line.

“And not surprisingly, this is what gave us the most significant clue.”

Jam Press/Rick AyrtonA plate with the Cunard Steamship Company logo that was discovered on the wreck[/caption] Jam Press/Rick AyrtonDominic Robinson is an experienced diver[/caption] Jam Press/Rick AyrtonThe moment a plate with the Cunard Steamship Company logo was discovered on the wreck[/caption] Jam Press/Rick AyrtonDominic went with a full boat crew and dive team[/caption] SWNSDominic spent two hours dragging up a WWII Royal Canadian Navy ship bell from 69 meters under the sea[/caption]