‘Sealand lay  on top of  mysterious  old wreck’

Cape Town – When a fierce north-west gale drove the container vessel Sealand Express aground off Sunset Beach in Table Bay last month, she came to rest on or against an old shipwreck.

SA Heritage Resources agency maritime archaeologist John Gribble said the wreck was likely that of a wooden sailing ship, dating from the first half of the 19th century.

The first hint there might be a wreck near the stranded ship came on August 19, when the same storm that swept it onto a sandbank also tossed ashore several pieces of old timber.

However, the wreck’s existence was confirmed earlier this week when the Sealand Express was taken into Cape Town harbour’s Sturrock dry dock for inspection.

There it was discovered she had damaged her starboard bilge keel, a triangular channel running below the waterline along the length of the ship which acts as a stabiliser. This was surprising because the sea floor where she was stranded is supposed to be sandy, with no rocks. However, a closer inspection soon showed the cause of the damage.

Smit Marine salvage director Dave Main confirmed yesterday that lodged in the channel were what appeared to be two broken cannon balls, pieces of pig iron, used as ballast in old sailing ships, and a piece of old wooden hull planking. It appeared the Sealand had been “rolling against a wreck”.

Mr Gribble suspected the wreck was a merchant vessel, although the presence of the “cannon balls” was strange. “Due to the presence of the Royal Navy, few merchantmen at the time carried cannon to defend themselves,” he said. Mr Gribble was keen to identify the wreck, which meant waiting for calm weather and diving on the site. – Sapa

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